A Hydrogel Delivery System Based on Selenium Nanoparticles and bFGF for Promoting the Repair of Skin Wounds

Objectives: Skin wound repair has long remained a crucial clinical challenge, in response to which, in this study, we propose a novel injectable hydrogel delivery system. In particular, we focus on the efficient delivery of bioactive factors and modulation of the local wound microenvironment. Methods: The hydrogel integrates selenium nanoparticles (SeNPs) and basic fibroblast growth factor (bFGF), which serve as key therapeutic components in the proposed system, and are additionally co-integrated with oxidized hyaluronic acid (OHA) and heparin-grafted carboxymethyl chitosan (CMCS-g-Hep) to construct a multifunctional SeNPs/bFGF-loaded CMCS-g-Hep/OHA hydrogel network. Accordingly, this proposed hydrogel was systematically evaluated using chemical synthesis, physicochemical characterization, in vitro cellular assays, and C57BL6J mice studies, which we used to jointly assess the biocompatibility and wound-healing efficacy of the proposed system. Results: The results demonstrated that the hydrogel enabled sustained bFGF release and was capable of significantly enhancing fibroblast proliferation, migration, and collagen deposition. In a mouse skin defect model, treatment with the loaded hydrogel markedly accelerated wound closure. Additionally, we conducted mechanistic investigations to further illustrate that the hydrogel can modulate the wound microenvironment by regulating inflammatory and chemotactic signaling pathways. Conclusions: These findings suggest a promising therapeutic pathway for chronic wound repair.