Skin injury caused by large doses of ionizing radiation is the common and severe side effect of
radiotherapy. However, its therapeutic efficacy is always hindered by early
reactive oxygen species generation, repetitive inflammatory microenvironment and
bacterial infection risk. Herein, we report an anti-biofouling
hydrogel with anti-
inflammation and anti-oxidative properties for the treatment of irradiation-induced skin injury. The anti-biofouling
hydrogel can be achieved by balancing oppositely charged
alginate,
hyaluronic acid (HA) and
polylysine (PLL) at the optimal ratio, which effectively resist
protein and bacterial adhesion, and evades immune response. Moreover,
curcumin and
epigallocatechin gallate (EGCG) can be facially encapsulated and substantially released from the
hydrogel. Results showed that the resulting AHP-Cur/EGCG
hydrogel can significantly weaken the development of skin injury and accelerate its healing process by alleviating
inflammation, scavenging ROS and promoting angiogenesis. Therefore, the findings presented in this work provide an effective strategy for clinical management and treatment of ionizing radiation-induced skin injury.