Key Laboratory of Biotechnology and Bioengineering of State Ethnic Affairs Commission, Biomedical Research Center, Northwest Minzu University, Lanzhou 730030, PR China; College of Chemical Engineering, Northwest Minzu University, Lanzhou 730030, PR China.
Key Laboratory of Biotechnology and Bioengineering of State Ethnic Affairs Commission, Biomedical Research Center, Northwest Minzu University, Lanzhou 730030, PR China; China-Malaysia National Joint Laboratory, Northwest Minzu University, Lanzhou, Gansu 730030, PR China; Gansu Tech Innovation Center of Animal Cell, Northwest Minzu University, Lanzhou 730030, PR China; Engineering Research Center of Key Technology and Industrialization of Cell-based Vaccine, Ministry of Education, Lanzhou 730030, PR China.
Int J Biol Macromol. 2024 Nov;280(Pt 4):136114. doi: 10.1016/j.ijbiomac.2024.136114. Epub 2024 Sep 27.
Hydrogels with rapid wound-healing capabilities and antimicrobial effects are gaining significant interest in related fields. Nonetheless, developing a multifunctional hydrogel wound dressing with injectable self-assembling, self-healing, antimicrobial properties, and efficient skin wound-healing capabilities remained a formidable challenge. In this experiment, we drew inspiration from silkworm cocoons' natural formation and protective mechanisms, employing a novel physical cross-linking method to create an injectable and self-healing quaternary hydrogel successfully. The hydrogel is based on a matrix of silk fibroin/silk sericin (SF/SS), with 1,2-dimyristoyl-sn-glycero-3-phosphate sodium salt (DMPG) serving as a physical cross-linking agent to form the hydrogel network structure, and the incorporation of silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) further enhances its antimicrobial capabilities. Our biomimetic hydrogel, which replicated the chemical properties of silkworm cocoons, demonstrated excellent hydrophilicity with a water contact angle that ranged from 37 to 52°. Its tensile and compressive resistance was approximately four times greater than that of a pure SF hydrogel, and its swelling performance was about three times higher than that of a pure SF hydrogel. Furthermore, the hydrogel exhibited an impressive bacterial inhibition rate of over 98 % in bacterial growth and inhibition experiments, which provided a solid foundation for accelerating wound healing. Likewise, experiments with mice and histological analyses revealed that on day 7, the expression of TNF-α and IL-1β in the wound tissues treated with the SF/SS/AgNPs hydrogel was significantly reduced by >25 % compared to the blank control group. This reduction indicates that the hydrogel could decrease the production of inflammatory cytokines, potentially aiding in the acceleration of wound healing and mitigation of inflammation-related adverse reactions. By day 14, the wounds were healed mainly, with the wound area reduced by 17 % compared to that of the blank group. This demonstrates the significant potential of this cocoon-mimetic hydrogel in accelerating wound healing and providing wound protection.
具有快速伤口愈合能力和抗菌效果的水凝胶在相关领域引起了极大的关注。然而，开发一种具有可注射自组装、自修复、抗菌性能和高效皮肤伤口愈合能力的多功能水凝胶伤口敷料仍然是一个巨大的挑战。在这项实验中，我们从蚕茧的天然形成和保护机制中获得灵感，采用一种新颖的物理交联方法成功地制备了一种可注射和自修复的季铵盐水凝胶。该水凝胶以丝素/丝胶（SF/SS）为基质，以 1,2-二肉豆蔻酰-sn-甘油-3-磷酸钠盐（DMPG）为物理交联剂形成水凝胶网络结构，并进一步掺入银纳米粒子（AgNPs）增强其抗菌能力。我们的仿生水凝胶复制了蚕茧的化学性质，具有优异的亲水性，水接触角在 37 到 52 度之间。其拉伸和压缩强度比纯 SF 水凝胶高约四倍，其溶胀性能比纯 SF 水凝胶高约三倍。此外，水凝胶在细菌生长和抑制实验中表现出超过 98%的细菌抑制率，为加速伤口愈合提供了坚实的基础。同样，对小鼠的实验和组织学分析表明，在第 7 天，与空白对照组相比，SF/SS/AgNPs 水凝胶处理的伤口组织中 TNF-α 和 IL-1β 的表达水平降低了超过 25%。这种减少表明水凝胶可以减少炎症细胞因子的产生，可能有助于加速伤口愈合和减轻炎症相关的不良反应。到第 14 天，伤口主要愈合，与空白组相比，伤口面积减少了 17%。这表明这种仿生水凝胶在加速伤口愈合和提供伤口保护方面具有重要的应用潜力。
