Green tea derivative-based hydrogel with ROS-scavenging property for accelerating diabetic wound healing

The accumulation of reactive oxygen species (ROS) in the oxidative stress microenvironment of diabetic wounds often results in delayed wound healing. In this study, a multifunctional hydrogel with ROS-scavenging property was developed by cross-linking epigallocatechin-3-gallate (EGCG), 2-(hydroxyethyl) methacrylamide (HEMAA), acrylamide (AM), and borax. The resulting hydrogel showed adequate hemostatic properties, self-healing capability, tissue adhesiveness, and an appropriate degradation rate. Moreover, the green tea derivative-based hydrogel scavenged the accumulated ROS and protected skin-related cells (such as keratinocytes, fibroblasts, and endothelial cells) from ROS-mediated death and proliferation inhibition. In vivo, this hydrogel accelerated diabetic wound healing by decreasing the ROS level, inducing macrophage polarization to the M2 phenotype, alleviating excessive inflammation, and promoting proliferation, epithelialization, collagen deposition, and neovascularization. By day 16, the hydrogel dressing had almost completely healed the diabetic wounds, whereas the residual wound areas of the blank control and the commercial TegadermTM dressing were 55.57 ± 5.67 % and 35.15 ± 3.45 %, respectively. Overall, this advanced hydrogel provides an effective strategy for the treatment of diabetic wounds and may be applied for the treatment of tissue injury in other ROS-accumulated microenvironments.