Intelligent management beyond therapeutic drug treating holds significant prospects in facilitating the recovery of intractable chronic wounds. Here, inspired by the flat and inclined structure of shark teeth, we present a shark tooth-inspired microneedle patch for intelligent wound management. By simply replicating negative molds fabricated by laser engraving and using origami, such a biomimetic microneedle patch can be fabricated easily and rapidly. The biomimetic structures endow the microneedle patch with stable adhesion during the long-term recovery process of chronic wounds. Porous ordered structures and a temperature-responsive hydrogel are utilized to construct a controllable drug release system on the microneedle patch. The microfluidic channel composed of microneedle arrays and porous ordered structures enables a microneedle patch with the capacity to analyze several inflammatory factors. In addition, MXene electronics was patterned on the microneedle patch in order to achieve sensitive motion monitoring. Also, it was demonstrated from in vivo diabetic rat experiments that recovery of full-thickness cutaneous wounds including stripe-shaped and circular wounds can be facilitated by employing the drug-loaded biomimetic microneedle patch.
Wounds, especially those caused by chronic diseases, are severe threats to human health. To facilitate their recovery, considerable efforts have been devoted to the generation of wound tissues and the detection of wound biomarkers. Here, an intelligent origami silk fibroin microneedle-structured dressing (i-SMD) with a smart drug release system, biochemical sensing, and physiological monitoring ability for epidermal sensing and wound healing, is presented. By utilizing temperature-responsive N-isopropylacrylamide (NIPAM) hydrogel and inverse opal (IO) photonic crystals (PCs) as a smart drug release system, controllable drug release is achieved on the i-SMD. The patterned microfluidic channels on the i-SMD and IO PCs enable the liquid to flow spontaneously in the channels, thereby achieving sensitive multiple biochemical analysis of inflammatory factors; meanwhile, microelectronic circuits integrated on the i-SMD enable sensitive motion monitoring. Notably, the performance of i-SMD in facilitating wound healing is demonstrated by treating full-thickness cutaneous wounds in a diabetic mouse model, indicating the remarkable prospects of i-SMD in wound management and other related biomedical fields.
Microneedle (MN) dressings, with the ability of transdermal drug delivery, have played an essential role in the field of wound healing. However, patients may still feel uncomfortable when sensitive unhealing wounds are pieced by strong needles. Here, inspired by the structure of mosquito mouthparts, which possess a fixation part and a liquid-transferring part, we present a novel MN wound dressing with superfine needle tips, personalized pattern design, programmable needle length, and multiple mechanical strengths for intelligent and painless drug delivery. By simply stretching the silicone rubber (Ecoflex) molds before engraving, superfine MNs can be formed in the restored molds. Meanwhile, by utilizing intelligent image recognition, precise treatment for irregular wounds is achieved. Notably, combined with temperature-responsive N-isopropylacrylamide (NIPAM) hydrogel and inverse opal (IO) photonic crystals (PCs), a controllable drug release system has been achieved on MN dressings. Moreover, the performance of the MN dressing in facilitating wound recovery has been demonstrated by full-thickness skin wounds of a mouse model. These results indicate that novel personalized and programmable MN wound dressings are of considerable value in the field of wound management.
Intelligent wound patches have the potential properties of ultra-adhesion, self-healing ability, biosensing, antibacterial, anti-inflammatory, etc. In situ sensing (biosensing and monitoring) and intelligent drug delivery deserve more exploration, and new strategies of these two factors are of great importance. In this Feature, a comprehensive set of the progress in the area of intelligent wound patches, especially those based on multiple biosensing and electronics, and their potentials in drug release is deliberated. In addition, the major challenges in this field and opinions on its future developments are portrayed.
Flexible membranes (i.e., paper, cloth, and polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS)) have received extensive attention. The rapid development of flexible microfluidics and electronics and their integration calls for complex substrate structures to allow for multiple functions. Inspired by nature, meta-structured membranes (MSMs) as substrates for fabricating integrated microfluidics and electronics are presented. These flexible and freestanding MSMs are generated by the self-assembly of elastic plastic copolymer nanoparticle photonic crystals on micropatterned PDMS templates. The final MSMs constitute with integrated ordered micro-and nanostructures and exhibit spontaneous liquid transfer, fluorescence enhancement, and intimate skin contact. MSMs with designed patterns can be fabricated by assembling polymer nanoparticles on patterned molds; complicated and highly integrated electro-microfluidics are generated on one slice of MSMs by utilizing these patterns as microfluidic channels and electrocircuits. They can be used as chip-on-skin sensors for biochemical-physiological hybrid monitoring sensing of the human body and as organ chips for cell culture and metabolite analysis under drug treatment. Their excellent properties show their potential value in cross-scale sensing and have broad potential applications.The ORCID identification number(s) for the author(s) of this article can be found under https://doi.org/10.1002/adfm.201906745. response and initiative manipulation on one single membrane substrate, which demands interdisciplinary integration. In fact, the combination of microfluidics and electronics on a single membrane has shown great potential in fabricating flexible smart devices such as wearable sensors (skin chips) and organ chips.Considerable attention and efforts have been devoted to fabricating membranes with functions such as super adherence, [4] vivid colors, [5] self-healing, [6] energy harvesting [7] based on micro/ nanostructures. However, the monotonous structure of current membranes limits their performance in flexible smart sensing devices. The construction of robust, ordered-structure membranes as flexible substrates with multiple excellent functions is still anticipated.Among many strategies improving the functionality of membranes, metamaterials or metastructures have widespread concerns. In the past decade, there have been increasing interests in metamaterials (structures) in scientific communities. [8] With the rapid development of materials science and physics, metamaterials are interdisciplinary subjects, including electronic engineering, condensed matter physics, microwave, optoelectronics, classical optics, materials science, semiconductor science, and nanotechnology. [9,10] Among many forms of metamaterials, highly ordered, micro-nano hybrid structures are beyond most striking styles. [11,12] Although there have been some attempts in this field, the high processing cost and complex processing process limit its full application in various fields.Nature provides excellent strategies for the re...
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