AUTHOR=Zhu Hong , Xu Jie , Zhao Min , Luo Hangqi , Lin Minjie , Luo Yuting , Li Yuan , He Huacheng , Wu Jiang 

TITLE=Adhesive, injectable, and ROS-responsive hybrid polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) hydrogel co-delivers metformin and fibroblast growth factor 21 (FGF21) for enhanced diabetic wound repair

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Bioengineering and Biotechnology

VOLUME=10

YEAR=2022

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/bioengineering-and-biotechnology/articles/10.3389/fbioe.2022.968078

DOI=10.3389/fbioe.2022.968078

ISSN=2296-4185

ABSTRACT=<p>As conventional treatments for diabetic wounds often fail to achieve rapid satisfactory healing, the development of effective strategies to accelerate diabetic wound repair is highly demanded. Herein, fibroblast growth factor 21 (FGF21) and metformin co-loaded multifunctional polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) hydrogel were fabricated for improved diabetic wound healing. The <italic>in vitro</italic> results proved that the hydrogel was adhesive and injectable, and that it could particularly scavenge reactive oxygen species (ROSs), while the <italic>in vivo</italic> data demonstrated that the hydrogel could promote angiogenesis by recruiting endothelial progenitor cells (EPCs) through upregulation of Ang-1. Both ROSs’ removal and EPCs’ recruitment finally resulted in enhanced diabetic wound healing. This work opens a strategy approach to diabetic wound management by combining biological macromolecules and small chemical molecules together using one promising environmental modulating drug delivery system.</p>