Injectable self-healing ceria-based nanocomposite hydrogel with ROS-scavenging activity for skin wound repair
Xueyun Gong, Meng Luo, Min Wang, Wen Niu, Yidan Wang, Bo Lei
Abstract
Abstract Excessive reactive oxygen species (ROS) in the injured skin may impede the wound repair and skin regeneration. Herein, we develop an injectable self-healing ceria-based nanocomposite hydrogel with ROS-scavenging activity to accelerate wound healing. The nanocomposite hydrogels were successfully prepared by coating cerium oxide nanorods with polyethylenimine and crosslinked with benzaldehyde-terminated F127 (F127-CHO) through the dynamic Schiff-base reaction (FVEC hydrogel). The results showed that the FVEC hydrogel possessed the good thermosensitivity, injectability, self-healing ability and ROS scavenging activity. The subcutaneous implantation experiments in mice confirmed that FVEC hydrogels are biocompatible and biodegradable in vivo. The full-thickness skin wound studies showed that FVEC hydrogel could significantly enhance the wound healing and epithelium regeneration with the formation of hair follicle and adipocyte tissue. This work provides a new strategy for the development of multifunctional Ce-based nanocomposite hydrogel for full-thickness skin wound healing and regeneration.