An injectable, self-healable, antibacterial, and pro-healing oxidized pullulan polysaccharide/carboxymethyl chitosan hydrogel for early protection of open abdominal wounds

• Published in: International journal of biological macromolecules 2023-10, Vol.250, p.126282-126282, Article 126282
• Main Authors: Zhao, Yeying, Li, Ruojing, Liu, Yangyang, Song, Lei, Gao, Zhao, Li, Ze, Peng, Xingang, Wang, Peige
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: abdomen; abdominal cavity; angiogenesis; biocompatibility; Carboxymethyl chitosan; chitosan; drug delivery systems; extracellular matrix; fistula; friction; granulation tissue; Hydrogel; hydrogels; inflammation; intestines; macrophages; Open abdomen; oxidation; pullulan; schiff bases; tissue repair
• ISSN: 0141-8130; 1879-0003
• DOI: 10.1016/j.ijbiomac.2023.126282

Open abdomen (OA) is an effective method for treating critical abdominal conditions such as severe abdominal infections. The temporary abdominal closure (TAC) technique is often used to temporarily restore the physiological environment of the abdominal cavity and maintain the homeostatic balance of the abdominal cavity. However, most of the common TAC materials available today lack bio-responsiveness, tend to abrade the intestinal canal, and lead to delayed tissue healing of the wound. Hydrogels could mimic the extracellular matrix and have shown significant potential in life science fields such as tissue regeneration, wound repair, and controlled drug release. In this study, a composite hydrogel scaffold was constructed by the Schiff base reaction of oxidized pullulan polysaccharide with carboxymethyl chitosan. The hydrogel exhibited excellent self-healing, cellular biocompatibility, and antibacterial and anti-inflammatory abilities, and in experiments it reduced secondary damage caused by friction between tissue and patch, thereby preventing serious complications such as intestinal fistula, promoted M1–M2 polarization of macrophages, reduced the inflammatory response, regulated the inflammatory microenvironment in vivo, promoted angiogenesis and granulation tissue regeneration, and accelerated wound healing. Therefore, our hydrogel provides a new strategy for material-assisted wound protection during OA and has potential clinical applications. [Display omitted] •An injectable hydrogel consisting of oxidized pullulan and carboxymethyl chitosan by Schiff base reaction was designed.•The hydrogel possesses excellent biological properties and promotes the healing of open abdominal wounds.•The hydrogel accelerates the healing of open abdominal wounds by promoting the polarization of macrophages from M1 to M2.