A mechanically stable self-pumping organohydrogel dressing with aligned microchannels for accelerated diabetic wound healing

Self-pumping dressings (SPDs) have been developed as a new type of effective material for the drainage of excessive wound exudates based on the structure of asymmetric wettability. However, current SPDs are easy to lose their asymmetric wettability due to the weak interfacial mechanical stability between the hydrophobic and hydrophilic layers. Herein, we report an integrated self-pumping organohydrogel dressing with aligned microchannels (SPD-AM), prepared by an ice-templating-assisted wetting-enabled-transfer (WET) polymerization strategy, that can accelerate the healing process of diabetic wounds. The WET polymerization strategy enables strong interfacial mechanical stability between the hydrophobic organogel and hydrophilic hydrogel layers. The aligned microchannels greatly improve the draining capability of SPDs. Taking a diabetic rat model as an example, the SPD-AM can significantly reduce the bacterial colonization with low inflammatory responses, enhance dermal remodeling by about 47.31%, and shorten wound closure time by about 1/5 compared with other dressings, ultimately accelerating diabetic wound healing. This study is valuable for developing next-generation SPDs with stable mechanical performance for clinical applications.