Tofu-Based Hybrid Hydrogels with Antioxidant and Low Immunogenicity Activity for Enhanced Wound Healing

Free radicals and inflammation in the skin suffering from trauma cause oxidative damage and delayed healing, leading to adverse wound conditions. To adequately investigate the effects of free radicals and controlled immunogenicity for wound healing, we propose a tofu-based hybrid hydrogel with antioxidant and low immunogenicity properties that can be used for wound healing. Tofu, a food source material, was introduced for the first time into gelatin methacryloyl (GelMA) hydrogels by the photo-crosslinking method. The results demonstrated that the incorporation of tofu influenced the pores, swelling, water vapor transmission and compressive properties of hydrogels greatly. The antioxidant activities of hydrogels had been enhanced with increasing rations of tofu, and the fibroblast culture showed good proliferation on the hybrid hydrogels, as well as slight immunogenicity, thereby inducing the M2 differentiation of macrophages. Further, a full-thickness skin wound model was created to study the healing effect of hybrid hydrogels. In vivo results confirmed that the antioxidant activity and slight immunological stimulation properties of tofu hydrogels could accelerate the wound healing rate and improve the skin tissue regeneration effect. The present study validates that the tofu-based hybrid hydrogels have multiple bioactivities and could be potential antioxidant and immunoregulation hydrogels in wound healing applications.