Bioinspired hybrid patches with self-adhesive hydrogel and piezoelectric nanogenerator for promoting skin wound healing
Shuo Du, Nuoya Zhou, Yujie Gao, Ge Xie, Hongyao Du, Hao Jiang, Lianbin Zhang, Juan Tao, Jintao Zhu
Abstract
Wound management is a crucial measure for skin wound healing and is significantly important to maintaining the integrity of skins and their functions. Electrical stimulation at the wound site is a compelling strategy for skin wound repair. However, there has been an urgent need for wearable and point-of-care electrical stimulation devices that have self-adhesive and mechanical properties comparable to wound tissue. Herein, we develop a bioinspired hybrid patch with self-adhesive and piezoelectric nanogenerator (HPSP) for promoting skin wound healing, which is composed of a mussel-inspired hydrogel matrix and a piezoelectric nanogenerator based on aligned electrospun poly(vinylidene fluoride) nanofibers. The device with optimized modulus and permeability for skin wear can self-adhere to the wound site and locally produce a dynamic voltage caused by motion. We show that the HPSP not only promotes fibroblast proliferation and migration in vitro, but also effectively facilitates the collagen deposition, angiogenesis, and re-epithelialization in vivo with the increased expressions of crucial growth factors. The HPSP reduces the wound closure time of full-thickness skin defects by about 1/3, greatly accelerating the healing process. This patch can serve as wearable and real-time electrical stimulation devices, potentially useful in clinical applications of skin wound healing.