Hyaluronic Acid and Polyacrylamide Composite Hydrogel Containing Viscid Germander Herb for Wound Closure and Healing

Yanzhen Lou ^a,b, Xinxiang Chai ^a,b, Minglin Ji ^a,b, Yanfang Sun ^c, Foziljon M. Turakulov ^d, Khaydar E. Yunusov ^d, Guohua Jiang ^a,b,f,g*

Abstract: In this study, a dual-network, dynamically cross-linked composite hydrogel was developed for wound closure and healing. The combined action of dopamine iron coordination reaction and Schiff base linkage between dopamine-modified oxidized hyaluronic acid (OHA) and polyacrylamide (PAM) was employed to form a dual-network, dynamically cross-linked structure in hydrogel. Then viscid germander herb (Vgb) extracted from total saponins was incorporated into the composite hydrogel to fabricate hydrogel wound dressing. The resultant hydrogel wound dressing demonstrated good biocompatibility in accelerating cell proliferation and migration. In vivo results demonstrated that compared with commercial dressings, the resultant hydrogel wound dressing facilitated wound healing on an infected full-thickness skin defect model by upregulating the gene expression of growth factors such as CD-31 and downregulating that of inflammatory factor IL-6. The transcriptomic results revealed that the biological mechanism by which Vgb regulated NF-κB and the innate immune system signaling pathways in the wound closure and healing processes.

Keywords: wound healing; viscid germander herb; signaling pathway