Glycosaminoglycan hydrogel films as bio-interactive dressings for wound healing

Chemically-crosslinked glycosaminoglycan (GAG) hydrogel films were prepared and evaluated as bio-interactive wound dressings. Hyaluronan (HA) and chondroitin sulfate (CS) were first converted to the adipic dihydrazide derivatives and then crosslinked with poly(ethylene glycol) propiondialdehyde to give a polymer network. The crosslinking occurred at neutral pH in minutes at room temperature to give clear, soft hydrogels. After gelation, a solvent-casting method was used to obtain a GAG hydrogel film. A mouse model was used to evaluate the efficacy of these GAG films in facilitating wound healing. Full-thickness wounds were created on the dorsal side of Balb/c mice and were dressed with a GAG film plus Tegaderm(TM) or Tegaderm(TM) alone. A significant increase in re-epithelialization was observed on day 5 (p < 0.001) and day 7) (p< 0.05) for wounds treated with a GAG film plus Tegaderm(TM) versus those treated with Tegaderm(TM) alone. While no significant differences in wound contraction or inflammatory response were found, wounds treated with either HA or CS films showed more fibro-vascular tissue by day 10. The GAG hydrogel films provide a highly hydrated, peri-cellular environment in which assembly of other matrix components, presentation of growth and differentiation factors, and cell migration can readily occur. (C) 2002 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.