Porous MOF Microneedle Array Patch with Photothermal Responsive Nitric Oxide Delivery for Wound Healing

Patches with the capacity of controllable delivering active molecules toward the wound bed to promote wound healing are expectant all along. Herein, a novel porous metal-organic framework (MOF) microneedle (MN) patch enabling photothermal-responsive nitric oxide (NO) delivery for promoting diabetic wound healing is presented. As the NO-loadable copper-benzene-1,3,5-tricarboxylate (HKUST-1) MOF is encapsulated with graphene oxide (GO), the resultant NO@HKUST-1@GO microparticles (NHGs) are imparted with the feature of near-infrared ray (NIR) photothermal response, which facilitate the controlled release of NO molecules. When these NHGs are embedded in a porous PEGDA-MN, the porous structure, larger specific surface area, and sufficient mechanical strength of the integrated MN could promote a more accurate and deeper delivery of NO molecules into the wound site. By applying the resultant NHG-MN to the wound of a type I diabetic rat model, the authors demonstrate that it is capable of accelerating vascularization, tissue regeneration, and collagen deposition, indicating its bright prospect applied in wound healing and other therapeutic scenarios.