Sodium Ascorbate-Accelerated Gelling Hydrogels With Rapid Self-Mineralized Capacity for Chronic Wounds

Chronic wound management remains clinically challenging owing to the persistent inflammation, excessive reactive oxygen species (ROS), potential bacterial infections, and the complex immune microenvironment. To address these issues, we develop a novel immunoregulatory hydrogel platform based on sodium ascorbate (SA)-accelerated gelation and in situ self-mineralization for facilitating the infected chronic diabetic wound healing. Such a hydrogel is constructed by mixing benzaldehyde- and cyanoacetate-functionalized dextran with silver nitrate (AgNO₃) and SA, which enables not only the ultrafast solidification but also in situ self-mineralization of silver nanoparticles (Ag NPs). The accelerated gelling properties and ROS-scavenging of the incorporated SA aid in rapid wound closure and oxidative stress alleviation, while the in situ-generated Ag NPs embedded within the hydrogel matrix provide multimodal antibacterial performance, effectively ameliorating inflammatory responses. Thus, when used in an infected diabetic wound model, this immunoregulatory hydrogel platform demonstrates significant facilitation effects for the wound healing by promoting wound closure, alleviating oxidative stress, eradicating bacterial infection, and inhibiting inflammation. These integrated features endow the hydrogels with high value for clinical wound management.