G-quartet driven adaptive hydrogels that integrate constitutional dynamics for antibacterial action and tissue repair

We report a nucleic acid inspired constitutional dynamic hydrogel (G4TZ) self-assembled from guanosine, a phenylboronic acid, and a thiazole peptide through dynamic covalent linkages formed by boronate ester and imine bonds, together with supramolecular interactions involving π–π stacking and K + -induced G-quartet formation. The resulting transparent and injectable hydrogel exhibits shear-thinning and pH-responsive behavior. G4TZ displays potent antibacterial activity against multidrug-resistant Streptococcus pneumoniae through reactive oxygen species generation, membrane disruption, DNA fragmentation, and biofilm inhibition, while maintaining excellent cytocompatibility. Furthermore, it accelerates re-epithelialization and promotes wound healing both in vitro and in vivo . This dynamic covalent and supramolecular system unites molecular design with biological function, offering strong translational potential for antimicrobial and regenerative medicine. More broadly, this work demonstrates reaction-driven multicomponent self-assembly as a general strategy to engineer multifunctional biomaterials with enhanced stability, biocompatibility, and therapeutic efficacy.