Gallic Acid Nanocrystal Hydrogel: A Novel Strategy for Promoting Wound Healing and Inhibiting Scar Formation

Abstract

Background: Slow healing of skin wounds is a major health problem affecting millions of people each year, and traditional dressings have limited effectiveness in treating them. Gallic acid has anti-inflammatory, antibacterial and antioxidant properties, and combined with nanotechnology can improve its solubility and provide new directions for wound treatment. Methods: In this study, Gallic acid nanocrystals (GC-NCs) were prepared by a “top-down” method, and GC-NCs were combined with a polyacrylic acid matrix to form Gallic acid nanocrystal hydrogel (GC-NCs-Gel) by co-gelation. The micromorphology, mechanical properties, adhesion properties and bioactivity of GC-NCs-Gel were tested. Finally, the ability of GC-NCs-Gel to promote wound healing and inhibit scar formation was evaluated in a rat whole skin defect model. Results: The average particle size of GC-NCs was 348.20 ± 1.42 nm, and GC-NCs-Gel had a honeycomb porous structure with excellent swelling properties (963%), water vapor transmission rate (2400 g/m2/h), tensile stress (28,000 Pa), and adhesive strength (9.6 kPa). GC-NCs-Gel also demonstrated a sustained and controlled drug release property after 48 h of release, the cumulative release was about 57%, and GC-NCs-Gel reached the highest cumulative permeability of 127.2 µg/cm2 within 6 h. In vitro experiments showed that the inhibition circle diameter of GC-NCs-Gel was 39.75 ± 0.61 mm for S. aureus and 21.52 ± 0.06 mm for E. coli. The free radical scavenging efficiency of GC-NCs-Gel reached 77.7% in the DPPH assay and up to 98.6% in ABTS. In vivo experiments showed that GC-NCs-Gel accelerated wound healing by promoting neovascularization, epidermal regeneration and collagen deposition. Conclusion: In this study, a GC-NCs-Gel with anti-inflammatory, antibacterial as well as antioxidant and wound tissue adhesion was prepared. This multi-functional hydrogel has significant advantages in wound healing, and is expected to provide a new and effective means of wound treatment in the clinic.