Preparation of novel stable microbicidal hydrogel films as potential wound dressing

•HA-CC-GS hydrogel film was successfully fabricated for the drug sustained release application.•HA-CC-GS hydrogel film was degraded slowly in lysozyme biodegradation solutions.•HA-CC-GS hydrogel film was shown significant antibacterial activity against P. aeruginosa and S. aureus. This work aimed to prepare a hydrogel film with antibacterial activity and excellent stability in enzymes as potential wound dressing. Using hyaluronic acid, carboxylated chitosan and gentamicin, antibacterial film HA-CC-GS was prepared through intermolecular covalent bonding. Surface morphology of film was evaluated by scanning electron microscope images. The film exhibited good water absorption capacity and appropriate water vapor permeation rate (WVPR), outstanding mechanical properties and remarkable resistance to enzymatic hydrolysis. The biocompatibility of the film was tested by CCK-8 assay, and the results showed that the viability of NIH3T3 cell was not affected by coculture with hydrogel film. In vitro antibacterial test indicated that the synthesized hydrogel film had obvious antibacterial properties. In addition, in vivo studies showed that antibacterial hydrogel film could protect wound from infection and promote wound healing. These results indicated that the prepared antimicrobial hydrogel films by cross-linking had great potential application in skin/tissue repair, suggesting as a hopeful wound dressing.