Antimicrobial hydrogels have attracted considerable attention for wound treatment due to the major clinical challenges of bacterial infections, which lead to delayed tissue regeneration and chronic inflammation. In addition, the strong adhesion of antimicrobial hydrogels to tissue surfaces is essential because wounds are generally moist, topographically irregular, and continuously exposed to various biological molecules. In this study, we developed in situ formed silver nanoparticle (Ag NP)-incorporated gallic acid-conjugated chitosan (CHI-G) hydrogels as bio-inspired antimicrobial and tissue adhesive materials. Ag/CHI-G hydrogels were successfully formed by the simultaneous reduction in Ag⁺ ions with a stable dispersion of Ag NPs. No additional reduction agents or crosslinkers were required to prepare the Ag/CHI-G hydrogels. In addition, the elastic moduli of the Ag/CHI-G hydrogels increased significantly with increasing concentrations of both AgNO₃ and CHI-G. Furthermore, the hydrogels exhibited excellent adhesion to the porcine intestinal tissue surfaces. The adhesive Ag/CHI-G hydrogels showed an inhibition of both Escherichia coli and Staphylococcus aureus with no significant cytotoxicity against NIH3T3 and CCD-18Co fibroblasts. Thus, in situ formed Ag/CHI-G hydrogels with adhesive, biocompatible, and antimicrobial properties are expected to be useful for versatile biomedical applications, such as drug delivery depots, tissue engineering hydrogels, and wound dressing materials.

Extracellular vesicles (EVs) are recently emerged as biomarkers for cancer diagnosis. RNA in EV specifically has drawn attention for its high stability and accuracy for early cancer diagnosis. However, analysis of EV RNA in plasma for cancer diagnosis often can be limited by a low population of cancer‐derived EVs in the plasma samples. Herein, we developed a sensitive EV RNA analysis technique with protein‐specific EV enrichment for accurate ovarian cancer diagnosis.

Postsurgical adhesions are common complications of abdominal and pelvic surgeries, often leading to bowel obstruction, chronic pain, and increased risks during reoperation. Although various physical barrier materials have been developed to prevent postsurgical adhesions, retaining anti-adhesive materials at surgical sites is challenging. In this study, we developed thermosensitive injectable gallic acid-conjugated hyaluronic acid (HA-GA) and Pluronic F127 (PluF) composite hydrogels to retain anti-adhesive materials and prevent postsurgical adhesion. The incorporation of HA-GA reduced the critical gelation concentration of PluF from approximately 18 to 12 wt% and decreased the gelation temperature from 28.5 °C for PluF to 25.6 °C for HA-GA (2 wt%)/PluF hydrogels with the left-shift in sol–gel curves. The G′ values increased from 10.1 ± 1.7 kPa for PluF to 24.8 ± 3.6 kPa for HA-GA (2 wt%)/PluF hydrogels at 37 °C. In addition, the HA-GA/PluF hydrogels exhibited enhanced mass retention as a function of time compared to PluF hydrogels alone. HA-GA (2 wt%)/PluF hydrogels retained 33.4 ± 3.5% of their initial mass after 7 d, whereas PluF was completely eroded within 3 d. The anti-adhesion efficacy of the HA-GA/PluF hydrogels was evaluated using a rat cecum abrasion model. Notably, the HA-GA (2 wt%)/PluF hydrogels showed reduced adhesion scores, with an adhesion extent score of 0.67 and 2.33 on postoperative day 7 and 21, respectively, compared with the untreated control group (3 and 3 on postoperative day 7 and 21). In addition, the adhesion severity scores of HA-GA (2 wt%)/PluF hydrogel groups were 0.33 and 1.33 on postoperative day 7 and 21, respectively, compared with the untreated control groups (1.67 and 2.33 on postoperative day 7 and 21). Therefore, HA-GA/PluF hydrogels provide reversible thermosensitive properties with enhanced stability and retention, supporting their potential as injectable physical barriers for postoperative adhesion prevention.

Postoperative pain management is one of the significant components of patient care, with the reduction of the risks of complications. However, there is a perceived unmet need for pain management due to both the adverse effects of systemic analgesics and the shortcomings of local anaesthetics. In this study, ropivacaine (RPC)- and ascorbic acid (AA)-loaded hyaluronic acid/Pluronic F127 (HA/F127) composite thermosensitive hydrogels were prepared for sustained analgesia and antioxidant activity. The HA/F127 hydrogels showed temperature-responsive sol–gel behavior with injectable properties at 4° C–20 °C. In addition, the hydrogels showed sustained release of RPC and AA over 72 h with significant radical scavenging activity. In vivo studies indicated that the HA/F127 hydrogels resulted in increased mechanical withdrawal thresholds compared to free RPC, without causing motor impairment, and plasma levels of IL-1 β and IL-6 were reduced. In addition, hematological, biochemical, and histological analyses showed acceptable ranges of biocompatibility without evidence of systemic toxicity or adverse local tissue reactions. Thus, the thermosensitive HA/F127 composite hydrogels provided sustained drug release, prolonged analgesic effects, reduced inflammatory responses, and acceptable biocompatibility. These findings indicate that these thermosensitive composite hydrogels may be a promising strategy for local drug delivery in managing postoperative pain and inflammation.