Researchers from Incheon National University in South Korea have developed a new type of hydrogel gelatin patch to assist wound management by accelerating healing. The bioactive tissue adhesive patches allow accurate control of adhesion and mechanical properties in wound management and tissue regeneration through adjustable polymeric compositions, and can deliver drugs directly to wounds, aiding recovery.

 

Open wounds need effective management to speed up the healing process and prevent potential infections. Although sutures and staples are commonly used in wound closure, they can also result in secondary tissue injuries, an unwelcome inflammatory response, and leaking fluids and gases, thereby requiring anesthetics.

 

A range of tissue adhesive glues can also be a useful alternative to suturing and stapling, but can introduce toxicity and weak adhesion. Although existing adhesive patches containing dopamine also have potential, they pose problems because of slow oxidation and weak bonding with the polymer backbone.

 

However, as reported in Composites Part B: Engineering [Lee et al. Compos. B: Eng. (2023) DOI: 10.1016/j.compositesb.2023.110951], here a new strategy was devised to produce dopamine-containing tissue adhesive gelatin hydrogels. This was achieved by adding calcium peroxide (CaO2) in the preparation of the hydrogel solution, producing a gelatin-based oxygen-generating tissue adhesive (GOT) that reacts easily with water to release molecular oxygen. This in turn facilitates the oxidation of dopamine molecules, promoting polymerization and wound healing.

 

The GOTs are the first reported bioadhesive, as well as being the first tissue adhesive material that can generate oxygen. Much interest has been shown in polymeric adhesive hydrogels as promising wound management materials due to features such as their biocompatibility, tunable properties, delivery of therapeutic agents, and tissue adhesive properties.

 

The team carried out in vitro and in vivo tests to show how the GOTs improved coagulation, blood closure and neovascularization. These GOTs, as well as their oxygen generation, offered easy control of gelation and mechanical properties, providing strong tissue adhesion.

 

The mechanical properties of these tissue adhesive patches accelerate the wound healing process as they can be fine-tuned and can be functionalized with healing agents. The team believe their GOTs have the potential to be a new cost-effective solution for wound management in a clinical setting.

 

As team leader Kyung Min Park said “We would like to pursue clinical trials and commercialization of this material through follow-up research and ultimately contribute to improving the quality of human life by developing next-generation tissue adhesive materials that can be applied to humans”.

“We would like to pursue clinical trials and commercialization of this material through follow-up research and ultimately contribute to improving the quality of human life by developing next-generation tissue adhesive materials that can be applied to humans”.Kyung Min Park