A photocrosslinking antibacterial decellularized matrix hydrogel with nanofiber for cutaneous wound healing

ddECMMA is the methacrylating product of decellularized dermal extracellular matrix with biological signals and capable of photocrosslinking. Thiolated chitosan (TCS) is an effective antibacterial component. PCLPBA is a kind of plasma-treated polycaprolactone nanofiber dispersions (PCLP) that regulates macrophage polarization and promotes angiogenesis. In this study, we obtained ddECMMA via methacrylation reaction. TCS was prepared by reaction between chitosan and thioglycolic acid. PCLPBA was fabricated via reaction between PCLP and 3 -buten-1-amine. TCS and PCLPBA were mixed in ddECMMA solution and photocrosslinked to form DTP4 hydrogel. The hydrogel showed rapid gelation, good mechanical strength, antibacterial and antioxidant prop-erties. When it was cocultured with NIH 3T3 cells, the cells showed good morphology and proliferation rate. After applying it to the full-thickness cutaneous wound, wounds almost healed in 2 weeks via re-epithelialization and neovascularization with negligible scar tissue. The results indicate that DTP4 hydrogel is a promising candidate for clinic skin wound healing.

Automated summary

In this study, ddECMMA, TCS, and PCLPBA were successfully prepared and mixed to form DTP4 hydrogel with good antibacterial and antioxidant properties. The hydrogel showed good support for cell growth and exhibited excellent wound healing effects in animal experiments.