Preparation and properties of polyvinyl alcohol/N–succinyl chitosan/lincomycin composite antibacterial hydrogels for wound dressing

•Polyvinyl alcohol/N–succinyl chitosan/lincomycin antibacterial hydrogels were prepared by the freezing/thrawing method.•The swelling behavior, mechanical strength, antibacterial activity and drug release were systematically investigated.•N–Succinyl chitosan enhanced the swelling capacity and mechanical strength.•The introducing of lincomycin improved the antibacterial activity with no cytotoxicity observed. Hydrogels are three-dimensional polymeric networks capable of absorbing large amounts of water or biological fluids with the properties resembling natural living tissues. Herein, polyvinyl alcohol (PVA)/N–succinyl chitosan (NSCS)/lincomycin hydrogels for wound dressing were prepared by the freezing/thawing method, then characterized by FTIR, SEM, and TGA. The compression strength, swelling behavior, water retention capacity, antibacterial activity, drug release and cytotoxicity were systematically investigated. The results showed that the introduction of NSCS remarkably enhanced the swelling capacity, leading to the maximum swelling ratio of 19.68 g/g in deionized water. The optimal compression strength of 0.75 MPa was achieved with 30 % NSCS content.Additionally, the incorporation of lincomycin brought a remarkable antibacterial activity against both Escherichia coli and Staphylococcus aureus. Specifically, 77.71 % of Staphylococcus aureus was inhibited with 75 μg/mL lincomycin, while the MTT assay demonstrated the nontoxic nature of the composite hydrogels. In summary, this PVA/NSCS/lincomycin hydrogel showed promising potential for wound dressing.