Most hydrogels are chemically crosslinked hydrogels, the use of excessive chemical crosslinkers limits their application in biomedicine and other fields. Herein, a completely physically crosslinked double-network hydrogel of sodium alginate/chitosan/zinc ion (SA/CS/Zn2+ PDH) which does not contain toxic chemical reagents was prepared. Compared with the sodium alginate/chitosan single-network hydrogel crosslinked by electrostatic interactions, the mechanical properties of the PDH is significantly improved. Gelation time, swelling behavior, mechanical performance, and antibacterial ability were evaluated with zinc concentration as a variable. It was found that with the increase of zinc content, the gelation rate increased, the swelling rate decreased, and the mechanical properties improved. The PDH exhibited outstanding antibacterial activity against both Staphylococcus aureus and Escherichia coli. Our work provides a new idea for the fabrication of environmentfriendly physically crosslinked double-network hydrogels based on natural polysaccharides.
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