Oxygen-Generating Bioscaffold for the Treatment of Skin Anaerobic Infections

Abstract

In response to the difficulties posed by anaerobic bacterial infections in wound healing, particularly in light of the increasing prevalence of antibiotic-resistant strains and the complex nature of wound environments, this study introduces a meticulously planned oxygen-generating tissue engineering scaffold to address these obstacles. This scaffold is realized from silk fibroin (SF), poly(vinyl alcohol) (PVA), and calcium peroxide (CPO) by ice crystal-induced self-assembly combined with the ice template method, aiming at a synergistic balance of hydrophilicity, structural stability, mechanocompatibility with biological tissues, controllable oxygen-releasing behavior, and antianaerobic bacterial properties. In particular, the oxygen-generating scaffold containing 2.5% CPO exhibits excellent antianaerobic properties by destroying C. perfringens through a mechanism that disrupts bacterial cell membranes and DNA, as well as promotes the generation of reactive oxygen species. Meanwhile, significant cytotoxic or hemolytic effects were avoided. Subsequent results demonstrated that the oxygen-generating scaffold accelerated the healing process of C. perfringens-infected wounds with results similar to those of amoxicillin. These results emphasize the promise of this new platform in clinical practice for the treatment of anaerobic bacterial infections and establishing a basis for advanced therapeutic strategies.