Institute of Fundamental Technological Research

The treatment of infected irregular wounds remains one of the most significant challenges in clinical practice. Sprayable hydrogels have attracted considerable attention due to their favorable fitting with irregular wounds. However, the development of hydrogels with programmable anti-bacterial, anti-inflammatory, and regenerative properties to match the healing process still faces severe challenges. Herein, a versatile strategy is demonstrated to develop sprayable and photothermal fiber-embedded hydrogel dressings by incorporating the gold nanorods (AuNRs) and anti-inflammatory drug diclofenac sodium (DS)-loaded poly(lactic-co-glycolic acid) (PLGA) electrospun fibers into the stromal-cell-derived factor 1α (SDF-1α)-immobilized gelatin methacrylate hydrogel. Benefiting from the photothermal conversion property of AuNRs and the suitable glass transition temperature of PLGA short fibers, the hydrogels can not only realize a photothermal anti-bacterial effect, but also photo-triggered on-demand release of DS for anti-inflammatory activity. Furthermore, the sustained release of SDF-1α facilitates endogenous stem cell recruitment. The in vivo experiments demonstrate accelerated healing of infected wounds. The RNA-sequencing analysis reveals that the hydrogel is capable of suppressing the inflammatory response-related pathway. The photo-responsive fiber-embedded hydrogels offer a promising strategy for constructing a photo-triggered programmable therapeutic platform for regenerative medicine.