Living microecological hydrogels for wound healing.

Abstract

Chronic hard-to-heal wounds draw great attention worldwide, as their treatments are limited by infections and hypoxia. Inspired by the natural oxygen production capacity of algae and the competitive advantage of beneficial bacteria over other microbes, we presented a living microecological hydrogel (LMH) with functionalized <i>Chlorella</i> and <i>Bacillus subtilis</i> encapsulation to realize continuous oxygen delivery and anti-infections for promoting chronic wound healing. As the hydrogel consisted of thermosensitive Pluronic F-127 and wet-adhesive polydopamine, the LMH could keep liquid at a low temperature while quickly solidifying and tightly adhering to the wound bed. It was demonstrated that by optimizing the proportion of the encapsulated microorganism, the <i>Chlorella</i> could continuously produce oxygen to relieve hypoxia and support the proliferation of <i>B. subtilis</i>, while <i>B. subtilis</i> could eliminate the colonized pathogenic bacteria. Thus, the LMH substantially promoted the healing of infected diabetic wounds. These features make the LMH valuable for practical clinical applications.