Polarized P(VDF-TrFE) film promotes skin wound healing through controllable surface potential

Surface potential of biomaterials is found to be important for wound healing. Here, poly(vinylidenefluoride-co-trifluoroethylene) (P(VDF-TrFE)) films with different surface potentials and piezoelectric responses were pre-pared and explored for the effect of surface potential on wound healing. The crystalline state of P(VDF-TrFE) films were characterized with X-ray diffraction (XRD), differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) and Fourier -transformed infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), illustrated that the electric polarization will promote the crystalli-zation of the beta phase of P(VDF-TrFE), in which the content of beta phase increased from 82.9 % to 86.8 % compared with the control. Then, Kelvin potential and piezoelectric coefficient d33 were to evaluate surface potential and polarization performance. Moreover, bovine serum albumin (BSA) adsorption and cell culture results showed that high surface potential can promote protein adsorption as well as fibroblast proliferation and macrophage polarization. Finally, in vivo experiments indicated that high voltage polarized P(VDF-TrFE) films can generate higher dynamic potential up to 2.3 V, and promoted wound healing from the phases of inflammation, prolif-eration and remodeling, the wound healing rate of which was 88.8 % +/- 0.8 %, significantly higher than 79.1 % +/- 2.5 % and 86.4 % +/- 1.8 % of blank and control. In general, this work revealed that polarized P(VDF-TrFE) films can promote wound healing, shed light on designing wound healing materials with similar properties.

Automated summary

The surface potential of biomaterials is crucial for wound healing. This study investigated the effect of surface potential on wound healing by preparing poly(vinylidenefluoride-co-trifluoroethylene) (P(VDF-TrFE)) films with different surface potentials and piezoelectric responses. The results revealed that electric polarization promotes the crystallization of the beta phase of P(VDF-TrFE) and high surface potential enhances protein adsorption, fibroblast proliferation, and macrophage polarization. In vivo experiments further demonstrated that high voltage polarized P(VDF-TrFE) films can generate a higher dynamic potential and significantly promote wound healing compared to the control group. Overall, this study provides insights into designing wound healing materials with similar properties.