Hydrogel with ROS Scavenging and Photothermal Sterilizing Activity for Treatment of Diabetic Wound Healing

With the rising prevalence of diabetes, a growing number of patients are at high risk for chronic nonhealing wounds. These wounds are a severe complication of diabetes, associated with increased rates of infection, amputation, and mortality. Currently, there are no established clinical approaches for effectively treating diabetic wounds, resulting in a significant socioeconomic burden on both patients and healthcare systems. Diabetic wound healing is frequently hampered by excessive reactive oxygen species (ROS) biogenesis and unrestrained bacterial infection, with methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) being a particularly aggressive pathogen in this setting. Polydopamine nanoparticles (PDA NPs) can readily scavenge ROS and facilitate efficient photoconversion. In this study, an injectable gelatin methacryloyl (GelMA)/PDA NPs hydrogel, designated GMP, was designed as an approach to overcoming these diabetic issues through the incorporation of PDA NPs into GelMA hydrogels. The prepared GMP hydrogel exhibited a porous 3D structure amenable to injection such that it can produce a hydrogel barrier that protects the wound site, rapidly providing hemostasis and absorbing wound-related exudates. GMP was then able to scavenge ROS and exert photothermal sterilizing effects, ultimately alleviating oxidative stress and eliminating bacteria from the site of wounding. This GMP hydrogel was also biocompatible with building blocks derived from natural materials. In vitro and in vivo, this GMP hydrogel containing PDA NPs was able to improve MRSA-infected diabetic wound healing, underscoring its value as a tool for the treatment of such wounds in a clinical setting.