Fibrous Nanozyme Dressings with Catalase-Like Activity for H2O2 Reduction To Promote Wound Healing

The concentrations of the redox pair hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) and oxygen (O2) can promote or decelerate the progression and duration of the wound healing process. Although H2O2 can reach critically high concentrations and prohibit healing, a sufficient O2 inflow to the wound is commonly desired. Herein, we describe the fabrication and use of a membrane that can contemptuously decrease H2O2 and increase O2 levels. Therefore, hematite nanozyme particles were integrated into electrospun and cross-linked poly(vinyl alcohol) membranes. Within the dual-compound membrane, the polymeric mesh provides a porous scaffold with high water permeability and the nanozymes act as a catalyst with catalase-like activity that can efficiently convert H2O2 into O2, as shown by a catalase assay. When comparing the growth of fibroblasts at an H2O2 concentration of 50 μM, the growth was largely enhanced when applying the nanozyme dressing. Thus, application of the nanozyme dressing can significantly reduce the harmful effect of higher H2O2 concentrations. The described catalytic membranes could be used in the future to provide an improved environment for cell proliferation in wounds and thus applied as advanced wound healing dressings.