Photo-crosslinking double modified silk fibroin-gelatin hydrogel for open abdominal wound healing

Author(s):
Ye Liu; Xiuwen Wu; Jianan Ren

Background:

Open abdomen is currently an effective treatment for abdominal trauma and severe abdominal infections, which is achieved via the use of polymeric materials such as polypropylene mesh and polyethylene patches to temporarily close the abdomen. However, these meshes alone are prone to cause abrasion and rupture of the intestine, leading to adhesions and serious complications such as intestinal fistulas and chronic trauma, which seriously affect the patient’s outcome. Therefore, the development of materials with trauma protection is a major research direction. Hydrogels hold tremendous promise for applications in wound healing based on their natural similarity to the extracellular matrix.

Hypothesis:

The GelMA-SilMA hydrogel has good mechanical properties and self-healing properties.

Methods:

Herein, a biofunctional composite hydrogel for open abdominal wound protection was developed by combining GelMA and SilMA.

Results:

In vitro cellular experiments have shown that the hydrogels are biocompatible and provide a good promote healing effect, in addition, the hydrogels also have advantages in terms of pro-angiogenesis. In the in vivo experiments, compared to commercially available polypropylene patches used in clinical practice, the designed hydrogel teaches to promote increased abdominal wall tissue thickness and integrity by polarising macrophages, promoting collagen formation, inducing neovascularisation, inhibiting oxidative stress, and suppressing inflammation by reducing IL-6, TNF-a, and IL-β expression.

Conclusions:

The results suggest that this bio-multifunctional hydrogel has great potential for the protection and repair of open abdominal.