Engineering a Nanostructured Hybrid Gel System with Sodium Humate for Enhanced Wound Healing

Area of Science:

• Materials Science
• Biomedical Engineering
• Pharmaceutics

Background:

• Effective topical drug delivery for wound management is challenging due to poor skin permeability of bioactive compounds.
• Sodium humate possesses therapeutic potential but requires an optimized delivery system.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop and evaluate a nanostructured bigel system incorporating sodium humate-loaded ultra-deformable vesicles (UDVs) for enhanced wound healing.
• To optimize UDV formulation and characterize the bigel system for dermal application.

Main Methods:

• Sodium humate-loaded UDVs were prepared via thin-layer hydration and optimized for size and encapsulation efficiency.
• An optimized UDV formulation was incorporated into a hybrid bigel (HPMC hydrogel and andiroba oil oleogel).
• The bigel system was characterized for physical, microstructural, and rheological properties. In vivo wound healing was assessed in rat models.

Main Results:

• Optimized UDVs exhibited small particle size, high stability, and high encapsulation efficiency.
• The developed bigel system showed suitable properties for dermal application.
• In vivo studies demonstrated significantly enhanced wound closure and tissue regeneration with the UDV-loaded bigel compared to controls.

Conclusions:

• The nanostructured bigel system incorporating sodium humate-loaded UDVs is a promising platform for enhanced dermal delivery.
• This formulation significantly promotes wound healing and tissue regeneration, offering a potential therapeutic strategy.