Self-Powered Microneedle Patch with Dual-Drug-Responsive Delivery for Monitoring and Promoting Scarless Healing of Infected Diabetic Wounds

Infected diabetic wounds (IDW) have imposed a heavy burden on public health care, urgently necessitating the development of theranostic platforms with intelligent responsive materials to enable precise diagnosis and treatment. Herein, a dual-drug-loaded self-powered microneedle patch (DDSMNP) integrating monitoring and therapeutic capabilities was fabricated to accelerate scarless healing of infected diabetic wounds. The DDSMNP integrates a dual-drug-loaded microneedle patch (DDMNP) and a piezoelectric/triboelectric hybrid nanogenerator (PTHN). Because of the presence of borate ester bonds, DDMNP can respond to the infected diabetic wound microenvironment for intelligent drug release, providing antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, and antibiofilm activities. The pH level at the infected diabetic wound site can be accurately determined through image recognition using a smartphone applet, enabling real-time monitoring of the wound microenvironment. The self-powered PTHN can harvest biomechanical energy and convert it into electrical energy, exhibiting significantly enhanced electrical output compared to single-mode nanogenerators. Besides, the DDSMNP promotes macrophage polarization toward the M2 phenotype, cell proliferation, and migration. Lastly, in vivo studies demonstrate that DDSMNP effectively eliminates bacterial infection and inhibits inflammatory responses, tissue fibrosis, and abnormal collagen deposition, thereby accelerating scarless healing of infected diabetic wounds. Collectively, this research offers great potential for promoting the scarless healing of infected diabetic wounds.