Da Huang, Jiahao Du, Fang Luo, Gang He, Minglang Zou, Yongming Wang, Zhenyu Lin, Decheng Wu, Zuquan Weng

Injectable Hydrogels with Integrated Ph Probes and Ultrasound‐Responsive Microcapsules as Smart Wound Dressings for Visual Monitoring and On‐Demand Treatment of Chronic Wounds

  • Pharmaceutical Science
  • Biomedical Engineering
  • Biomaterials
Save to CiteDrive Show PDF

AbstractHydrogel dressings with the capability to monitor infections and precisely administer treatment in a controlled manner hold great promise for advanced wound care. However, these functionalities usually necessitate the integration of organic dyes or flexible electronics, as well as drug carriers, into preformed hydrogels, giving rise to safety concerns and challenges in conforming to irregularly shaped wounds. In this study, an injectable hydrogel based smart wound dressing was developed by integrating food‐derived anthocyanidin as a visual pH probe for infection monitoring and poly(L‐lactic acid) microcapsules as ultrasound‐responsive delivery systems for antibiotics into a poly(ethylene glycol) hydrogel. The smart hydrogel dressings were prepared through a straightforward process, and the incorporation of anthocyanins and microcapsules into the hydrogels did not compromise their favorable properties for wound repair, including porous morphology and excellent biocompatibility. In vitro experiments demonstrated that the hydrogel enabled visual assessment of pH within the range of 5∼9. Meanwhile, the release of antibiotics could be triggered and controlled by ultrasound. In vivo evaluations using infected wounds and diabetic wounds revealed that the wound dressing effectively detected wound infection by monitoring pH levels and achieved antibacterial effects through ultrasound‐triggered drug release. This led to significantly enhanced wound healing, as validated by histological analysis and the measurement of inflammatory cytokine levels. This injectable hydrogel‐based smart wound dressing holds great potential for use in clinical settings to inform timely and precise clinical intervention and in community to improve wound care management.This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved

Need a simple solution for managing your BibTeX entries? Explore CiteDrive!

  • Web-based, modern reference management
  • Collaborate and share with fellow researchers
  • Integration with Overleaf
  • Comprehensive BibTeX/BibLaTeX support
  • Save articles and websites directly from your browser
  • Search for new articles from a database of tens of millions of references
Try out CiteDrive

More from our Archive