Highly Adhesive, Stretchable and Breathable Gelatin Methacryloyl-based Nanofibrous Hydrogels for Wound Dressings

Abstract

Adhesive and stretchable nanofibrous hydrogels have attracted extensive attraction in wound dressings, especially for joint wound treatment. However, adhesive hydrogels tend to display poor stretchable behavior. It is still a significant challenge to integrate excellent adhesiveness and stretchability in a nanofibrous hydrogel. Herein, a highly adhesive, stretchable, and breathable nanofibrous hydrogel was developed via an in situ hybrid cross-linking strategy of electrospun nanofibers comprising dopamine (DA) and gelatin methacryloyl (GelMA). Benefiting from the balance of cohesion and adhesion based on photocross-linking of methacryloyl (MA) groups in GelMA and the chemical/physical reaction between GelMA and DA, the nanofibrous hydrogels exhibited tunable adhesive and mechanical properties through varying MA substitution degrees of GelMA. The optimized GelMA60-DA exhibited 2.0 times larger tensile strength (2.4 MPa) with an elongation of about 200%, 2.3 times greater adhesive strength (9.1 kPa) on porcine skin, and 3.1 times higher water vapor transmission rate (10.9 kg m–2 d–1) compared with gelatin nanofibrous hydrogels. In parallel, the GelMA60-DA nanofibrous hydrogels could facilitate cell growth and accelerate wound healing. This work presented a type of breathable nanofibrous hydrogels with excellent adhesive and stretchable capacities, showing great promise as wound dressings.

Preparation of Ion2+-COS/SA Multifunctional Gel Films for Skin Wound Healing by an In Situ Spray Method

“…The levels decreased on day 14, with a statistically significant difference between the 3% COS + Z-C group and the blank group (p < 0.05), demonstrating that fibroblast growth factor was more abundant during the cell proliferation phase and less abundant during the tissue remodeling phase. The higher content of fibroblast cytokines on day 7 and the greater change in content after 14 days proved that these metal ion cross-linked gel films could indeed promote cell proliferation [40]. New blood vessels can transport various nutrients and cytokines needed for the tissue healing process [41].…”

In situ forming double-crosslinked hydrogels with highly dispersed short fibers for the treatment of irregular wounds

“…GM was synthesized according to previous study. 38 In brief, gelatin (6 g) was added in PBS (50 mL) at 55 °C, followed by stirring until complete dissolution. Then, MA (5 mL) was dropped to the above gelatin solution slowly at a rate of 1 mL min −1 and the solution was kept stirring at 50 °C for 3 h. Then, PBS (300 mL) was added to terminate the reaction.…”

Toward a new generation of permeable skin electronics

“…Besides thickness reduction, another approach is to use adhesive materials, such as silk 147,154 and hydrogel, 155,156 to develop breathable skin-mountable electronics. For instance, a skin-friendly conductive hydrogel with multiple hydrogen bonds was reported based on PVA, phytic acid (PA), and gelatin (Gel).…”

“…In particular, the step-by-step magnified photos of the nanofilms laminated to human skin without the use of any glue exhibited great skin conformability. 153 Besides thickness reduction, another approach is to use adhesive materials, such as silk 147,154 and hydrogel, 155,156 to develop breathable skin-mountable electronics. For instance, a skin-friendly conductive hydrogel with multiple hydrogen bonds was reported based on PVA, phytic acid (PA), and gelatin (Gel).…”