Title : Chitosan/gallic acid-grafted-alginate based hydrogel for the controlled release of platelet derived exosomes in cutaneous wound healing
Abstract:
The intricate process of full-thickness skin regeneration is susceptible to oxidative stress, bacterial infection, excessive swelling, poor blood flow, to name a few. One suitable candidate for dressing materials to enhance the wound healing process is hydrogel, which is characterized by porous structure, antioxidant, antibacterial, hemostatic, and cytocompatibility. The present study designs and fabricates a novel hydrogel dressing, comprising of sodium alginate, chitosan, and gallic acid, that can prevent the above-mentioned issues, while retaining moisture adhesion to tissues. This newly-developed hydrogel is then analyzed using Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR), Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM), swelling, biodegradation, drug release, cytocompatibility, antioxidation (DPPH), antibacterial activity against Gram positive and negative bacteria, and hemocompatibility and blood clotting. The results verify that hydrogel is successfully crosslinked and grafted with gallic acid in addition to revealing excellent biodegradation, high drug loading, and promising antioxidant properties. Moreover, the swelling capability and the porous structure of the hydrogel facilitates a controlled release of the encapsulated exosomes. Through endowing high cyto-hemocompatibility, and antibacterial properties, the fabricated hydrogels loaded with platelets derived-exosomes are able to resolve two main issues of the early stage of the wound healing process (i.e., oxidative stress and bacterial infection). The efficient migration of fibroblasts in vitro wound healing assay is further verified. In summary, the study findings on the synergistic effects of platelets derived exosomes and chitosan/alginate hydrogel demonstrate a promising potential as materials of choice for wound healing purposes.
