Hydrogen bond-induced tea saponin incorporation with cellulose hydrogels enables accelerated acute wound healing

Tea saponin (TS), a pentacyclic triterpenoid extracted from tea trees, is a primary active ingredient of tea. They typically resist bacteria and promote acute wound healing. However, maintaining the long-lasting antibacterial effects of TS during acute wound healing is challenging. In this study, we fabricated a carboxymethyl cellulose (CMC) hydrogel encapsulating TS, which can continuously release TS as an antibacterial reagent in the acute wound area to promote healing in a rat model. In addition, the Tea saponin-incorporated carboxymethyl cellulose (TS-CMC) hydrogel promoted the regeneration of peripheral nerves in the acute wound area. Notably, the systemic results indicated that the hydrogel had a stable network structure, high toughness, and excellent adhesive properties (adhesion strength up to 200 kPa), and exhibited efficient antibacterial, anti-inflammatory, hemostatic, and biocompatibility characteristics. These desirable properties enable the TS-CMC hydrogel to have significant potential for irregular and motion-wound treatments. The research will extend to more complex wound treatment, such as burn, scald wound in the future. Therefore, this study provides a novel approach for the clinical treatment of skin wounds that can be applied to complex and intractable wounds, thereby promoting the application of hydrogels as wound dressings.