A pro-regenerative petroleum jelly-based, copper-doped bioactive glass ointment for impaired wound healing in metabolic syndrome
5 affiliations
- 1Department of Biomedical Engineering, Northwestern University, Evanston, IL, 60208, USA; Center for Advanced Regenerative Engineering, Northwestern University, Evanston, IL, 60208, USA; Department of Chemistry and Materials Science, School of Science, Xi'an Jiaotong-Liverpool University, Suzhou, Jiangsu, 215123, China
- 2Department of Biomedical Engineering, Northwestern University, Evanston, IL, 60208, USA
- 3Joint Department of Biomedical Engineering, NC State University, Raleigh, NC, 27606, USA
- 4Department of Biomedical Engineering, Northwestern University, Evanston, IL, 60208, USA; Querrey Simpson Institute for Regenerative Engineering at Northwestern University, Chicago, IL, 60611, USA; Center for Advanced Regenerative Engineering, Northwestern University, Evanston, IL, 60208, USA
- 5Department of Biomedical Engineering, Northwestern University, Evanston, IL, 60208, USA; Querrey Simpson Institute for Regenerative Engineering at Northwestern University, Chicago, IL, 60611, USA; Center for Advanced Regenerative Engineering, Northwestern University, Evanston, IL, 60208, USA; Department of Surgery, Feinberg School of Medicine, Northwestern University, Chicago, IL, 60611, USA
Abstract
Chronic wound healing is often impaired in conditions such as metabolic syndrome, requiring effective therapeutic interventions to promote tissue regeneration and repair. In this study, we evaluated the wound healing potential of petroleum jelly (P Jelly)-based bioactive glass ointments (PBGCu) with varying copper concentrations (0, 1, and 3 wt%) in both in vitro and in vivo models of wound healing. PBGCu formulations demonstrated high biocompatibility with human dermal fibroblasts (HDF) and human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVEC). Additionally, PBGCu ointments exhibited strong antibacterial activity against Staphylococcus aureus , suggesting their utility for the care of chronic wounds. In both metabolic syndrome mouse and pig models, PBGCu3-treated wounds showed significantly faster wound closure, enhanced epithelial regeneration, and increased dermal thickness compared to saline and P Jelly controls. Histological analysis also revealed 50% increased vascularization (p < 0.0001) and a 90% reduction in scar formation (p < 0.0001) in PBGCu3-treated wounds. These findings show that PBGCu formulations, especially at 3 wt% copper concentration, significantly improve wound healing by promoting epithelial regeneration, dermal tissue formation, and vascularization, while also offering antibacterial protection. The sustained Cu 2+ ions release from PBGCu ointments provides long-term support for tissue regeneration, positioning this ointment composition as a promising therapeutic tool for chronic wound management. Future studies will focus on elucidating the underlying mechanisms and evaluating the therapeutic efficacy of PBGCu formulations in infected wounds.
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BibTeX
@article{wang2026proregenerative,
title = {{A pro-regenerative petroleum jelly-based, copper-doped bioactive glass ointment for impaired wound healing in metabolic syndrome}},
author = {Huifeng Wang and Ophelia Tong and Youssef Ibrahim and Muskan Aslam and Yugang Liu and Chongwen Duan and Ruyue Luo and Angel Guo and Mirae Kim and Emma Vinokour and Andrew Kang and Pritika Jakka and Bin Jiang and Guillermo A. Ameer},
journal = {Materials Today Bio},
year = {2026},
month = oct,
doi = {10.1016/j.mtbio.2026.103769},
url = {https://doi.org/10.1016/j.mtbio.2026.103769},
note = {CC BY-NC-ND},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - A pro-regenerative petroleum jelly-based, copper-doped bioactive glass ointment for impaired wound healing in metabolic syndrome
AU - Huifeng Wang
AU - Ophelia Tong
AU - Youssef Ibrahim
AU - Muskan Aslam
AU - Yugang Liu
AU - Chongwen Duan
AU - Ruyue Luo
AU - Angel Guo
AU - Mirae Kim
AU - Emma Vinokour
AU - Andrew Kang
AU - Pritika Jakka
AU - Bin Jiang
AU - Guillermo A. Ameer
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/10/20
JO - Materials Today Bio
DO - 10.1016/j.mtbio.2026.103769
UR - https://doi.org/10.1016/j.mtbio.2026.103769
AB - Chronic wound healing is often impaired in conditions such as metabolic syndrome, requiring effective therapeutic interventions to promote tissue regeneration and repair. In this study, we evaluated the wound healing potential of petroleum jelly (P Jelly)-based bioactive glass ointments (PBGCu) with varying copper concentrations (0, 1, and 3 wt%) in both in vitro and in vivo models of wound healing. PBGCu formulations demonstrated high biocompatibility with human dermal fibroblasts (HDF) and human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVEC). Additionally, PBGCu ointments exhibited strong antibacterial activity against Staphylococcus aureus , suggesting their utility for the care of chronic wounds. In both metabolic syndrome mouse and pig models, PBGCu3-treated wounds showed significantly faster wound closure, enhanced epithelial regeneration, and increased dermal thickness compared to saline and P Jelly controls. Histological analysis also revealed 50% increased vascularization (p < 0.0001) and a 90% reduction in scar formation (p < 0.0001) in PBGCu3-treated wounds. These findings show that PBGCu formulations, especially at 3 wt% copper concentration, significantly improve wound healing by promoting epithelial regeneration, dermal tissue formation, and vascularization, while also offering antibacterial protection. The sustained Cu 2+ ions release from PBGCu ointments provides long-term support for tissue regeneration, positioning this ointment composition as a promising therapeutic tool for chronic wound management. Future studies will focus on elucidating the underlying mechanisms and evaluating the therapeutic efficacy of PBGCu formulations in infected wounds.
SN - 2590-0064
ER -