A novel bioactive polyurethane with controlled degradation and L-Arg release used as strong adhesive tissue patch for hemostasis and promoting wound healing

Effective strategy of hemostasis and promoting angiogenesis are becoming increasingly urgent in modern medicine due to millions of deaths caused by tissue damage and inflammation. The tissue adhesive has been favored as an optimistic and efficient path to stop bleeding, while, current adhesive presents limitations on wound care or potential degradation safety in clinical practice. Therefore, it is of great clinical significance to construct multifunctional wound adhesive to address the issues. Based on pro-angiogenic property of L-Arginine (L-Arg), in this study, the novel tissue adhesive (G-DLPUs) constructed by L-Arg-based degradable polyurethane (DLPU) and GelMA were prepared for wound care. After systematic characterization, we found that the G-DLPUs were endowed with excellent capability in shape-adaptive adhesion. Moreover, the L-Arg released and the generation of NO during degradation were verified which would enhance wound healing. Following the in vivo biocompatibility was verified, the hemostatic effect of the damaged organ was tested using a rat liver hemorrhage model, from which reveals that the G-DLPUs can reduce liver bleeding by nearly 75% and no obvious inflammatory cells observed around the tissue. Moreover, the wound care effect was confirmed in a mouse full-thickness skin defect model, showing that the hydrogel adhesive significantly improves the thickness of newly formed dermis and enhance vascularization (CD31 staining). In summary, the G-DLPUs are promising candidate to act as multifunctional wound care adhesive for both damaged organ and trauma.

Automated summary

Effective strategy of hemostasis and promoting angiogenesis is crucial in modern medicine. This study developed a novel tissue adhesive, G-DLPUs, which showed excellent shape-adaptive adhesion and enhanced wound healing by releasing L-Arg and generating NO during degradation. The G-DLPUs also demonstrated promising results in reducing liver bleeding and improving wound care in animal models.