Contraction-actuated thermo-responsive hydrogels accelerate wound healing via mechanosensitive proliferation

Wound healing is a critical issue in clinical treatment. Many reported hydrogel dressings face challenges with fluid absorption and expansion, which can absorb exudate from wounds but may compromise their functionality. In this study, a hydrogel wound dressing with dynamic contraction properties was prepared using an efficient blue light polymerization method. The hydrogel can adhere to the surface of rat skin wounds and actively contract the wound based on body temperature, thereby reducing wound area, alleviating inflammation, improving wound healing quality, and promoting extracellular matrix (ECM) structural remodeling, collagen deposition, and vascular maturation. RNA sequencing revealed the molecular characteristics of dynamic contraction-mediated rat dorsal wounds and identified the underlying molecular mechanisms for enhanced proliferative activity in contraction-mediated rat dorsal wounds. These findings may guide further research into the role of mechanically regulated wound healing and hold significant potential for clinical translation and application.