Tailored Hydrogel Delivering Niobium Carbide Boosts ROS‐Scavenging and Antimicrobial Activities for Diabetic Wound Healing

Abstract

cause of nontraumatic limb amputations, threatening patient health and quality of life. [1,2] Wound healing is a fascinatingly complex biological process. Traditionally, it is divided into four overlapping phases: hemostasis, inflammation, proliferation and remodeling. [3,4] Compared with the healing of other wounds, the healing of diabetic wounds gets stalled in the inflam matory phase, which is characterized by excessive production of reactive oxygen species (ROS), proinflammatory cytokines and proteases. [5,6] Excessive ROS produc tion cause irreversible oxidative damage to biomacromolecules (such as lipids, nucleic acids, and proteins) and the cells within the wound (such as endothelial cells, keratino cytes, and fibroblasts). This inhibits angiogenesis, granulation tissue forma tion, and wound healing. [7,8] The endo genous antioxidant system is inadequate to remove excessive ROS, and the use of exogenous antioxidants is recommended to prevent oxidative stress damage. With the rapid advancements in nanomedicine, numerous antioxidative nanomaterialsincluding melanin nanoparticles (NPs), metalbased nanomaterials (Au, Ag, Pt NPs), metal oxidebased nanomaterials (CeO 2 , Fe 3 O 4 , TiO 2 , alumina, SiO 2 ), [9,10] and quantum dots-are being used in wound dressing systems to scavenge excess ROS. [11] In addition to oxidative damage, bacterial infections also hinder diabetic wound healing. [12,13] Diabetic wounds are more prone to bacterial infection owing to impaired immune responses, and bacterial infections cause increased ROS pro duction and worsen the inflammatory response in wounds. [14,15] Bacteria easily acquire multidrug resistance owing to antibi otic misuse. Therefore, among various available antimicrobial therapies, photothermal therapy (PTT) has been attracting widespread attention. [16] In PTT, nearinfrared (NIR) laser irra diation is used to induce a local increase in temperature, which can damage bacterial cell membranes and denature bacterial proteins, thus causing bactericidal effects. [16,17] So far, a variety of nanomaterialbased photothermal agents have been incorpo rated into wound dressings to treat bacteriainfected wounds. [17] However, monotherapy with PTT may lead to additional local ROS production, thus delaying wound healing. Therefore, anThe treatment of diabetic wounds remains challenging due to the excess levels of oxidative stress, vulnerability to bacterial infection, and persistent inflammation response during healing. The development of hydrogel wound dressings with ideal anti-inflammation, antioxidant, and anti-infective properties is an urgent clinical requirement. In the present study, an injectable thermosensitive niobium carbide (Nb 2 C)-based hydrogel (Nb 2 C@Gel) with antioxidative and antimicrobial activity is developed to promote diabetic wound healing. The Nb 2 C@Gel system is composed of Nb 2 C and a PLGA-PEG-PLGA triblock copolymer. The fabricated Nb 2 C nanosheets (NSs) show good biocompatibility during in vitro cytotoxicity and hemocompatibility assays and in vivo t...

MXenes Antibacterial Properties and Applications: A Review and Perspective

“…al developed an injectable thermosensitive niobium carbide (Nb 2 CT x )‐based hydrogel (Nb 2 C@Gel) with antioxidative and antibacterial properties for diabetic wound healing. [ 211 ] The hydrogel was prepared by mixing a cold aqueous solution of poly(lactic acid‐co‐glycolic acid)‐b‐poly(ethylene glycol)‐b‐poly(lactic acid‐co‐glycolic acid) (PLGA‐PEG‐PLGA) triblock copolymer with a cold aqueous dispersion of Nb 2 CT x nanosheets (an average size of 153 nm, a zeta potential of −47 mV) followed by increasing the mixture temperature to 37 °C. The hydrogel exhibited good biocompatibility with keratinocytes, fibroblasts, and endothelial cells, three main cells in wound healing.…”

Self-Homeostasis Immunoregulatory Strategy for Implant-Related Infections through Remodeling Redox Balance

“…Prolonged nonhealing of the wound after prosthetic implantation can increase bacterial colonization and lead to wound infection. , Redox imbalance and immune disorders caused by infection exacerbate impaired wound healing and further lead to deep infection around implants. − Therefore, expediting the healing of infected wounds is an effective means of preventing and treating IRIs. The Lut@Cu-HN regulates immune homeostasis by remodeling the redox balance, thereby removing bacterial infections in vitro and in vivo .…”

Milk-derived exosomes carrying siRNA-KEAP1 promote diabetic wound healing by improving oxidative stress

“…We previously investigated the use of synthetic ADSC-exo@MMP-PEG hydrogel in wound treatment, demonstrating that it could alleviate H 2 O 2 -induced oxidative stress and rescue the impaired wound healing in diabetic mice [ 17 ]. Furthermore, the thermosensitive niobium carbide (Nb 2 C)-based hydrogel (Nb 2 C@Gel), which has antioxidant and antimicrobial activity, could promote wound healing by attenuating ROS levels [ 18 ]. A specific role of Nrf2 was highlighted in research by Simu et al, which indicated that oxidative stress could be decreased by activating Nrf2, as Nrf2 mediates ROS elimination and nitric oxide generation [ 19 ].…”