ROS-responsive GelMA/L-Arginine hydrogel with locally sustained NO release for accelerated skin wound healing
- 1Burn and Plastic Surgery Department, The Affiliated Huaian No.1 People’s Hospital of Nanjing Medical University
Abstract
Nitric oxide (NO) plays crucial regulatory roles in accelerating cutaneous wound repair via modulating angiogenesis and macrophage polarization. Herein, a reactive oxygen species (ROS)-responsive GelMA/L-arginine (L-Arg) composite hydrogel was fabricated through 405-nm photocrosslinking for localized NO delivery and high-efficiency wound treatment. Physicochemical characterizations verified that L-Arg incorporation maintained the favorable moldability and interconnected porous microstructure of pristine GelMA hydrogel, and enabled sustained ROS-triggered NO release under oxidative microenvironment. In vivo full-thickness skin defect rat models demonstrated that the GelMA/L-Arg hydrogel markedly expedited wound closure, achieving a healing rate of 93.7% at day 14, and facilitated ordered re-epithelialization with a collagen area fraction of 64.6%. Further immunofluorescence results confirmed that the hydrogel improved regenerative quality by promoting mature angiogenesis with a vessel density of 116/mm ² and switching macrophages toward anti-inflammatory M2 phenotype. Systemic biosafety evaluation via major organ histological staining validated favorable biocompatibility without obvious organ toxicity. In conclusion, this multifunctional NO-releasing GelMA/L-Arg hydrogel represents a promising candidate for clinical wound dressing applications.
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BibTeX
@article{chen2026rosresponsive,
title = {{ROS-responsive GelMA/L-Arginine hydrogel with locally sustained NO release for accelerated skin wound healing}},
author = {Yi Chen and Dongdong Wu and Haiyan Wu and Guojun Yu and Weixi Yang and Qing Wang and Weiyu Luo and Jing Wang},
journal = {Frontiers in Pharmacology},
year = {2026},
month = oct,
doi = {10.3389/fphar.2026.1970915},
url = {https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fphar.2026.1970915/full},
note = {CC BY 4.0},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - ROS-responsive GelMA/L-Arginine hydrogel with locally sustained NO release for accelerated skin wound healing
AU - Yi Chen
AU - Dongdong Wu
AU - Haiyan Wu
AU - Guojun Yu
AU - Weixi Yang
AU - Qing Wang
AU - Weiyu Luo
AU - Jing Wang
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/10/26
JO - Frontiers in Pharmacology
DO - 10.3389/fphar.2026.1970915
UR - https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fphar.2026.1970915/full
AB - Nitric oxide (NO) plays crucial regulatory roles in accelerating cutaneous wound repair via modulating angiogenesis and macrophage polarization. Herein, a reactive oxygen species (ROS)-responsive GelMA/L-arginine (L-Arg) composite hydrogel was fabricated through 405-nm photocrosslinking for localized NO delivery and high-efficiency wound treatment. Physicochemical characterizations verified that L-Arg incorporation maintained the favorable moldability and interconnected porous microstructure of pristine GelMA hydrogel, and enabled sustained ROS-triggered NO release under oxidative microenvironment. In vivo full-thickness skin defect rat models demonstrated that the GelMA/L-Arg hydrogel markedly expedited wound closure, achieving a healing rate of 93.7% at day 14, and facilitated ordered re-epithelialization with a collagen area fraction of 64.6%. Further immunofluorescence results confirmed that the hydrogel improved regenerative quality by promoting mature angiogenesis with a vessel density of 116/mm ² and switching macrophages toward anti-inflammatory M2 phenotype. Systemic biosafety evaluation via major organ histological staining validated favorable biocompatibility without obvious organ toxicity. In conclusion, this multifunctional NO-releasing GelMA/L-Arg hydrogel represents a promising candidate for clinical wound dressing applications.
SN - 1663-9812
ER -