Shark Tooth-Inspired Microneedle Dressing for Intelligent Wound Management

Intelligent management beyond therapeutic drug treating holds significant prospects in facilitating the recovery of intractable chronic wounds. Here, inspired by the flat and inclined structure of shark teeth, we present a shark tooth-inspired microneedle patch for intelligent wound management. By simply replicating negative molds fabricated by laser engraving and using origami, such a biomimetic microneedle patch can be fabricated easily and rapidly. The biomimetic structures endow the microneedle patch with stable adhesion during the long-term recovery process of chronic wounds. Porous ordered structures and a temperature-responsive hydrogel are utilized to construct a controllable drug release system on the microneedle patch. The microfluidic channel composed of microneedle arrays and porous ordered structures enables a microneedle patch with the capacity to analyze several inflammatory factors. In addition, MXene electronics was patterned on the microneedle patch in order to achieve sensitive motion monitoring. Also, it was demonstrated from in vivo diabetic rat experiments that recovery of full-thickness cutaneous wounds including stripe-shaped and circular wounds can be facilitated by employing the drug-loaded biomimetic microneedle patch.