Curcumin/Fe-SiO2 nano composites with multi-synergistic effects for scar inhibition and hair follicle regeneration during burn wound healing

The scar formation and hair follicle regeneration are closely related in the healing process of skin burn wounds. Excessive pathological fibroblasts at the scar site severely hinders the migration of hair follicle stem cells to the damaged site. Therefore, it is of great clinical significance to develop wound dressings to inhibit scar formation and promote hair follicle regeneration. In this study, inspired by the bioactivity of SiO32−, Fe3+ and Cur, we designed a new type of nano composites, Cur-Fe-mesoporous silica nanoparticles (Cur-Fe-SiO2, MFSC). On the one hand, Fe3+ doping reduced the stability of mesoporous silica, so that it can effectively release biologically active SiO32− and Fe3+. On the other hand, Fe3+ ions released on the surface of the mesoporous silica pores chelated with the Cur in the solution and resulted in significantly improved loading of Cur and the chelates showed higher biological activity as compared to Cur or Fe alone. The released bioactive components such as SiO32−, Fe3+ and Fe-Cur chelates showed synergistic activity in both inhibiting scar hyperplasia and promoting hair follicle regeneration. Our results suggest that the synergistic effects between ions and flavonoids can be used to increase the bioactivity of biomaterials, and design of nano composites with bioactive ions and flavonoids might be an effective approach to prepare materials for tissue regeneration.