Green Tea Derivative Driven Smart Hydrogels with Desired Functions for Chronic Diabetic Wound Treatment

Current treatments for chronic diabetic wounds remain unsatisfactory due to the lack of ideal wound dressings that can integrate matching mechanical strength, fast self-healability, facile dressing change, and multiple therapeutic effects into one system. In this work, benefiting from the catechol groups and therapeutic effect of epigallocatechin-3-gallate (EGCG, green tea derivative), a smart hydrogel dressing can be conveniently obtained through copolymerization of the complex formed by EGCG and 3-acrylamido phenylboronic acid (APBA) (the formation of boronate ester bond) and acrylamide. The resulting hydrogel features adequate mechanical properties, self-healing capability, and tissue adhesiveness. Otherwise, the substantial release of EGCG can not only realize anti-oxidation, antibacterial, anti-inflammatory and proangiogenic effect, and modulation of macrophage polarization to accelerate wound healing, but also facilitate easy dressing change. This advanced hydrogel provides a facile and effective way for diabetic chronic wound management and may be extended for the therapy of other complicated wound healings.