Abstract

Postoperative complications such as tumor recurrence, wound infections, and delayed tissue regeneration persist as critical challenges in melanoma management. In this study, we designed a temperature-tunable photothermal immunotherapy hydrogel dressing (Pd/JQ1@SerMA) to overcome these melanoma postoperative complications. Specifically, this immunomodulatory dressing is composed of methacrylic anhydride-modified sericin (SerMA), palladium nanosheets (Pd) with excellent photothermal performance, and the small-molecule BRD4 inhibitor JQ1. The Pd/JQ1@SerMA hydrogel induces immunogenic cell death (ICD) in tumor cells via high-temperature photothermal effects (> 48 °C), while the released JQ1 downregulates interferon-γ-induced programmed death ligand 1 (PD-L1) expression, thereby mitigating acquired immune resistance and enhancing antitumor immunity. The transcriptomic profiling revealed significant activation of tumor-specific immune pathways, including lymphocyte differentiation, T-cell activation, and systemic immune responses. In addition, the high-temperature photothermal effects (> 48 °C) eliminates over 95% of Staphylococcus aureus and Escherichia coli. Notably, the hydrogel adaptively fills irregular wound defects, and accelerates postoperative tissue regeneration under mild photothermal stimulation (~ 42 °C). In conclusion, this temperature-tunable photothermal immunotherapeutic hydrogel exhibits remarkable clinical potential for preventing tumor recurrence, combating infection, and promoting wound healing. Graphical Abstract Supplementary Information The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s12951-026-04292-7.