A Composite Hydrogel for Simultaneous SERS Detection of Glucose Concentration and Drug Therapy on Chronic Wound Surfaces in Diabetes Mellitus

Surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) substrates have been widely used in various fields; however, poor reproducibility and susceptibility to interference remain problems. Hydrogels have been applied to flexible SERS substrates but remain underdeveloped. In this paper, a SERS detection module hydrogel and a drug release module hydrogel were synthesized. A composite hydrogel was prepared by assembling the two modules. The selective permeability of the hydrogel enables the direct detection of small molecular analytes in body fluids. The SERS detection module hydrogel is effective in detecting glucose concentrations on the wound surface. The detection range encompassed the glucose levels typically found in the human wound environment, demonstrating good linearity, R2 = 0.9965. The drug-release module hydrogel exhibits responsive release properties in high-glucose and low-pH environments. Also, the composite hydrogel demonstrates the dual capability of SERS detection and wound treatment in practical applications. All the results suggest that this composite hydrogel holds great potential for the detection and treatment of diabetic wounds.