Tailored design of photoelectric-coupled Mxene-cellulose sponge dressing for programmed diabetic wound healing

Delayed wound healing and recurrent bacterial infections in diabetic ulcers pose significant threats to patient health and represent major challenges for the healthcare system. The development of multifunctional biomaterials that integrate antibacterial, hemostatic, and regenerative properties is an inevitable trend and an urgent need for wound dressings. In this study, we developed a novel photoelectrically coupled bacterial cellulose/Mxene sponge (C₁P₂@Mxene). This sponge mimics the extracellular matrix microenvironment and achieves dynamic immune modulation in diabetic wounds. The Nb₂-Mxene modification enhanced the conductivity of the sponge, enabling the C₁P₂@Mxene sponge to actively couple with endogenous electric fields and efficiently transfer these fields to skin tissue cells, thus accelerating wound healing. Moreover, the C₁P₂@Mxene sponge exhibited enhanced antibacterial activity (98 %) via photothermal conversion and significantly accelerated the formation of granulation tissue, collagen deposition, angiogenesis, and re-epithelialization (by day 14 post-injury). Therefore, this photothermal-coupled sponge dressing with hemostatic, anti-inflammatory, antibacterial, and wound-healing properties offers a novel approach for repairing chronic skin lesions in patients with diabetes and holds significant potential for clinical application.