Researchers from the research area “Surfaces of Porous Membrane Filters” at IOM have developed PEGDA/gelatin hybrid hydrogels containing silver nanoparticles and investigated their potential for antibacterial photodynamic therapy. The transparent, skin-like hydrogels were fabricated using electron beam technology and loaded with either cationic or anionic photosensitizers. They serve both as innovative wound dressing platforms and as carrier systems for light-activated antimicrobial applications.

The study focused on understanding how ionic photosensitizers interact with silver nanoparticles and how these interactions influence antibacterial activity under light irradiation. Upon light activation, the photosensitizers generate reactive oxygen species capable of effectively killing bacteria. The antibacterial performance was evaluated against Escherichia coli and Staphylococcus aureus.

While silver nanoparticles alone showed only limited antimicrobial activity, their combination with photosensitizers resulted in a pronounced synergistic effect. In particular, the combination of the anionic photosensitizer Eosin Y with silver nanoparticles significantly enhanced antibacterial efficiency by 97% against Escherichia coli and by 98% against Staphylococcus aureus compared to Eosin Y alone.

These findings highlight the potential of PEGDA/gelatin hydrogels containing photosensitizers and silver nanoparticles as novel light-activated antimicrobial wound dressings.

The study was published in Biomaterials Advances:

T. Şener Raman, M. Kühnert, R. Konieczny, N. Lippmann, A. Kaiser, R. Werdehausen, B. Abel, A. Schulze
Synergistic effects of ionic photosensitizers and silver nanoparticles in PEGDA/gelatin hybrid hydrogels for advanced antibacterial photodynamic therapy
Biomaterials Advances 187 (2026) 214946
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.bioadv.2026.214946