There is an unmet clinical need for
wound dressings to treat partial thickness
burns that damage the epidermis and dermis. An ideal dressing needs to prevent
infection, maintain skin hydration to facilitate
debridement of the necrotic tissue, and provide cues to enhance tissue regeneration. We developed a class of 'smart'
peptide hydrogels, which fulfill these criteria. Our ultrashort aliphatic
peptides have an innate tendency to self-assemble into helical fibers, forming biomimetic
hydrogel scaffolds which are non-immunogenic and non-cytotoxic. These nanofibrous
hydrogels accelerated
wound closure in a rat model for partial thickness
burns. Two
peptide hydrogel candidates demonstrate earlier onset and completion of autolytic
debridement, compared to
Mepitel(®), a
silicone-coated
polyamide net used as standard-of-care. They also promote epithelial and dermal regeneration in the absence of exogenous
growth factors, achieving 86.2% and 92.9%
wound closure respectively, after 14 days. In comparison, only 62.8% of the burnt area is healed for
wounds dressed with
Mepitel(®). Since the rate of
wound closure is inversely correlated with
hypertrophic scar formation and
infection risks, our
peptide hydrogel technology fills a niche neglected by current treatment options. The regenerative properties can be further enhanced by incorporation of bioactive moieties such as
growth factors and
cytokines.