Bioactive agarose-based hydrogels with granulated microstructures for accelerating diabetic wound healing

Area of Science:

• Biomaterials Science
• Polymer Chemistry
• Regenerative Medicine

Background:

• Agarose hydrogels are widely used in bio-applications due to their biocompatibility.
• The bioinert nature of native agarose limits its therapeutic potential.
• A need exists for functionalized agarose materials with enhanced bioactivity.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop novel bioactive agarose-based hydrogels with granulated microstructures.
• To enhance agarose hydrogels for drug delivery and chronic wound healing applications.
• To investigate the synergistic effects of cationic features, microstructures, and antioxidant properties.

Main Methods:

• Utilized amine-epoxy "click" chemistry for hydrogel synthesis.
• Employed ligninsulfonate (LS) complexation-mediated phase separation for microstructure formation.
• Prepared and characterized agarose-based hydrogels (AMS) with granulated microstructures.

Main Results:

• Developed cationic AMS hydrogels with well-defined granulated microstructures.
• Demonstrated excellent hemocompatibility and cytocompatibility of the hydrogels.
• Resveratrol-loaded AMS3 hydrogel promoted macrophage response, angiogenesis, and diabetic wound healing in vitro and in vivo.

Conclusions:

• The novel AMS hydrogels possess unique bioactive properties including cationic charge, granulated microstructures, and antioxidant capacity.
• These hydrogels show significant potential for drug encapsulation and delivery.
• The developed materials offer a promising platform for advanced applications in chronic wound healing and regenerative medicine.