Chen Sicong, Qiu Jiajun, Chen Shuhan, Nie Xiaoshuang, Zhao Linlin, Wang Fang, Liu Hairong, Liu Xuanyong
College of Material Science and Engineering, Hunan University, No. 2 Lushan South Road, Yuelu District, Changsha, Hunan 410082, P. R. China.
State Key Laboratory of High Performance Ceramics and Superfine Microstructure, Shanghai Institute of Ceramics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, No. 1295 Dingxi Road, Changning District, Shanghai 200050, P. R. China.
Burns Trauma. 2025 Jan 14;13:tkae067. doi: 10.1093/burnst/tkae067. eCollection 2025.
Patients with diabetic wounds often experience challenges in the repair process, owing to increased concentration of glucose and reactive oxygen species (ROS). In addition, high glucose levels usually result in bacterial infections, which in turn worsen wound healing. This study aims to develop a multifunctional hydrogel with integrated antibacterial activity, ROS scavenging, and glucose-responsive properties to accelerate healing of infected diabetic wounds.
A Zn ion-incorporated injected hydrogel was prepared using 4-carboxyphenylboronic acid-modified gelatine, tannic acid, and zinc ions. The spectra were detected using a Fourier transform infrared spectrometer and surface morphologies of hydrogels were obtained using a scanning electron microscopy. The release behavior of Zn ions was investigated using an inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry instrument. To evaluate the antimicrobial properties of the GPT and GPT@Zn hydrogels, strains of and were utilized. Cytocompatibility was evaluated using mouse fibroblasts (L929 cells) and human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVECs). Finally, diabetic wound models were constructed in rats to evaluate the effects of hydrogels on wound healing.
The results show that the hydrogels are injectable and have self-healing properties. Moreover, borate ester bonds are formed in the hydrogels, which are responsive to HO and glucose and can eliminate them. At the same time, zinc ions were released, giving the hydrogels good antibacterial efficacy, with antibacterial rates of 99.7% and 99.9% against and respectively. Furthermore, the hydrogels demonstrated good cell compatibility with L929 cells and HUVECs and increased the gene expression of VEGF, COL I, and COL III because of the addition of zinc ions. Based on the ROS, glucose scavenging capacity, and biological functions of zinc ions, the hydrogels advanced the recovery of -contaminated whole skin wounds in diabetic rats.
This study provides a novel treatment strategy for diabetic wound healing by constructing Zn ion-incorporated injected hydrogels with reactive oxygen species and glucose-scavenging capacity.
糖尿病伤口患者在修复过程中常面临挑战，这是由于葡萄糖和活性氧（ROS）浓度增加所致。此外，高血糖水平通常会导致细菌感染，进而使伤口愈合恶化。本研究旨在开发一种具有综合抗菌活性、ROS清除能力和葡萄糖响应特性的多功能水凝胶，以加速感染性糖尿病伤口的愈合。
使用4-羧基苯硼酸修饰的明胶、单宁酸和锌离子制备了一种含锌离子的可注射水凝胶。使用傅里叶变换红外光谱仪检测光谱，并使用扫描电子显微镜获得水凝胶的表面形态。使用电感耦合等离子体质谱仪研究锌离子的释放行为。为了评估GPT和GPT@Zn水凝胶的抗菌性能，使用了金黄色葡萄球菌和大肠杆菌菌株。使用小鼠成纤维细胞（L929细胞）和人脐静脉内皮细胞（HUVECs）评估细胞相容性。最后，在大鼠中构建糖尿病伤口模型，以评估水凝胶对伤口愈合的影响。
结果表明，水凝胶具有可注射性和自愈性能。此外，水凝胶中形成了硼酸酯键，其对HO和葡萄糖有响应并能将其清除。同时，锌离子释放出来，赋予水凝胶良好的抗菌效果，对金黄色葡萄球菌和大肠杆菌的抗菌率分别为99.7%和99.9%。此外，水凝胶对L929细胞和HUVECs表现出良好的细胞相容性，并且由于添加了锌离子，增加了VEGF、COL I和COL III的基因表达。基于ROS、葡萄糖清除能力和锌离子的生物学功能，水凝胶促进了糖尿病大鼠受金黄色葡萄球菌污染的全层皮肤伤口的恢复。
本研究通过构建具有活性氧和葡萄糖清除能力的含锌离子可注射水凝胶，为糖尿病伤口愈合提供了一种新的治疗策略。
