Metallopolymer based double-network hydrogel as promising antimicrobial materials with antibiotics

Double network (DN) hydrogels are composed of two contrasting polymer networks: highly crosslinked electrolyte polymers as the first network and poorly crosslinked neutral polymers as the second network. In order to overcome the low mechanical strength of traditional single hydrogels, DN hydrogels have been extensively exploited in various fields because they could provide high mechanical strength and toughness, and high water content. Metallopolymer based DN hydrogels have been fabricated via a two-step network formation. Because metallopolymers combine a versatile organic polymer framework with functional metals, metallopolymer based DN networks can provide inherent functionalities from organometallic molecules. Taking advantage of the metallopolymer, metallocenium-containing DN hydrogels can embed antibiotics via ion-complexation with metal cations, which have exhibited robust antibacterial activities with synergistic effects of antibiotics and metal-building blocks.