Preparation and Antibacterial Hemostatic Properties of a Photothermal-Responsive Hydrogel Loaded with Natural Quercetin

Traumatic hemorrhage is a leading cause of death worldwide, especially in pre-hospital emergency care, battlefield scenarios, and complex surgeries. Irregular wounds (lacerations, blast injuries, penetrating wounds, visceral incisions) with uneven depth and jagged edges pose challenges to hemostasis. Traditional methods such as mechanical compression, surgical suturing, gelatin sponges, and gauze show low efficiency, single functionality, and lack antibacterial activity for deep or irregular wounds. Therefore, developing a material combining rapid hemostasis, antibacterial efficiency, and antioxidant capacity is urgently needed. Phenylboronic acid was grafted onto sodium hyaluronate (HA) to form a boronate ester network (HA-PBA). The HA-PBA solution was combined with polydopamine-grafted hyaluronic acid nanoparticles (PDA-HA) and quercetin (Que) to prepare a photothermal-responsive HP@PDA/Que3 hydrogel dressing. The hydrogel was evaluated for photothermal performance, antioxidant capacity, biocompatibility, hemostasis, and antibacterial activity. The HP@PDA/Que3 hydrogel possessed a porous network. Optimal concentrations were 0.8 mg/mL PDA-HA and 0.3 mg/mL Que. The hydrogel exhibited > 65% DPPH/ABTS radical scavenging and cleared intracellular ROS. It showed injectability, tissue adhesion, swelling, and controllable degradation. Under NIR irradiation, the antibacterial rates against S. aureus and E. coli exceeded 99%. Biocompatibility tests showed favorable in vitro biocompatibility, with no obvious cytotoxicity (cell viability > 85%) and a hemolysis rate < 5%. These in vitro results cannot fully guarantee in vivo biosafety, and further histological evaluation of local inflammatory responses is required prior to clinical translation. In vitro coagulation tests confirmed procoagulant properties. In a rat liver incision model, hemostatic time and blood loss were better than those of chitosan and blank control groups. The HP@PDA/Que3 hydrogel integrates rapid hemostasis, photothermal antibacterial activity, antioxidant function, and biocompatibility, providing a multifunctional dressing with clinical potential for trauma emergency treatment.