Wearable e-Bandage with Antimicrobial Ionogel as an Integrated Electroceutical Device for Accelerated Wound Healing

Skin wound healing is a highly orchestrated and complex dynamic process, presenting a significant healthcare challenge when its natural progression is interrupted. Despite the known effectiveness of electrical stimulation (ES) in aiding wound recovery, its practical application remains limited by the use of large complicated equipment. Here, we present a miniaturized wearable electroceutical platform (WEP) that generates low-intensity electrical pulses, which are transmitted to the wound site via a breathable electrical bandage patch through a silk-based antimicrobial ionogel interface. In vivo efficacy assessment of WEP demonstrated a significantly rapid wound closure. Histological and immunostaining analysis exhibited accelerated granulation tissue formation, extracellular matrix (ECM) remodeling, and re-epithelization in the presence of pulsed ES. In vitro studies showed ES-facilitated changes in fibroblast response, including proliferation, alignment, and ECM secretion, which potentially contributed to the observed improvements in the healing process. The developed WEP possesses great translational potential, offering an advanced cost-effective therapeutic solution for wound care.