Graphene Oxide Loaded Hydrogel for Enhanced Wound Healing in Diabetic Patients

Recent advances on 3D-bioprinted gelatin methacrylate hydrogels for tissue engineering in wound healing: A review of current applications and future prospects

Advancements in 3D bioprinting, particularly the use of gelatin methacrylate (GelMA) hydrogels, are ushering in a transformative era in regenerative medicine and tissue engineering. This review highlights the pivotal role of GelMA hydrogels in wound healing and skin regeneration. Its biocompatibility, tunable mechanical properties and support for cellular proliferation make it a promising candidate for bioactive dressings and scaffolds. Challenges remain in optimizing GelMA hydrogels for clinical use, including scalability of 3D bioprinting techniques, durability under physiological conditions and the development of advanced bioinks. The review covers GelMA's applications from enhancing wound dressings, promoting angiogenesis and facilitating tissue regeneration to addressing microbial infections and diabetic wound healing. Preclinical studies underscore GelMA's potential in tissue healing and the need for further research for real-world applications. The future of GelMA hydrogels lies in overcoming these challenges through multidisciplinary collaboration, advancing manufacturing techniques and embracing personalized medicine paradigms.

Graphene Oxide Thin Films with Drug Delivery Function

Graphene oxide has been used in different fields of nanomedicine as a manager of drug delivery due to its inherent physical and chemical properties that allow its use in thin films with biomedical applications. Several studies demonstrated its efficacy in the control of the amount and the timely delivery of drugs when it is incorporated in multilayer films. It has been demonstrated that oxide graphene layers are able to work as drug delivery or just to delay consecutive drug dosage, allowing the operation of time-controlled systems. This review presents the latest research developments of biomedical applications using graphene oxide as the main component of a drug delivery system, with focus on the production and characterization of films, in vitro and in vivo assays, main applications of graphene oxide biomedical devices, and its biocompatibility properties.

Graphene Oxide-Based Stimuli-Responsive Platforms for Biomedical Applications

Graphene is a two-dimensional sp2 hybridized carbon material that has attracted tremendous attention for its stimuli-responsive applications, owing to its high surface area and excellent electrical, optical, thermal, and mechanical properties. The physicochemical properties of graphene can be tuned by surface functionalization. The biomedical field pays special attention to stimuli-responsive materials due to their responsive abilities under different conditions. Stimuli-responsive materials exhibit great potential in changing their behavior upon exposure to external or internal factors, such as pH, light, electric field, magnetic field, and temperature. Graphene-based materials, particularly graphene oxide (GO), have been widely used in stimuli-responsive applications due to their superior biocompatibility compared to other forms of graphene. GO has been commonly utilized in tissue engineering, bioimaging, biosensing, cancer therapy, and drug delivery. GO-based stimuli-responsive platforms for wound healing applications have not yet been fully explored. This review describes the effects of different stimuli-responsive factors, such as pH, light, temperature, and magnetic and electric fields on GO-based materials and their applications. The wound healing applications of GO-based materials is extensively discussed with cancer therapy and drug delivery.

Hydrogel or ointment? Comparison of five different galenics regarding tissue breathability and transepidermal water loss

PURPOSE

Five different galenics were analyzed and compared concerning tissue breathability and gas exchange with the environment after an application period of 6 h on pig ear skin. Aim was to find the most suitable galenics for efficient moist treatment for everyday injuries (abrasions, lacerations and cuts) without influencing the transepidermal water loss.

METHODS

A quantity of 0.1 g of the different test preparations was applied once topically to an area of 2 cm2. The analysis of the breathability was performed by TEWL (transepidermal water loss) measurements in the first hour after product application. The moisture retention effect was assessed by corneometry in the first 5 h after product application.

RESULTS

The hydrogel preparations showed a higher breathability in contrast to a semi-occlusive ointment and petrolatum. The same applies to the moisture penetration of the skin. Here, all hydrogel formulations showed the highest tissue hydration. After 3 h an additional increase in moisture was observed for the areas treated with Tyrosur® CareExpert Wound Gel and the ointment.

CONCLUSION

In contrast to petrolatum and the semi-occlusive ointment, treatment with the hydrogels led to a preservation of the breathability and good moistening of the tissue, which is due to the galenics of the gels consisting of water, carbomer and propylene glycol. The increase in moisture after 3 h in areas treated with Tyrosur® CareExpert Wound Gel and the semi-occlusive ointment indicates a sustained moisturizing effect mediated by dexpanthenol.