Acid-responsive contractile hyaluronic acid-based hydrogel loaded with ginsenoside Rg1 for hemostasis and promotion of gastric wound healing

Due to constant stimulation by stomach acid and local bleeding, gastric tissue wounds tend to heal slowly and complications such as anastomotic leakage have a high incidence. Suturing is often used to treat gastric wounds in clinic, but it still faces risks such as bleeding, slow healing, and leakage. Recently, hydrogel have been widely used to treat various types of wounds. Although hydrogels have shown promising efficacy in wound healing, it is still a challenge in dealing with wounds in gastric tissue for the poor adaptability of traditional materials in acidic environments. Hence, a series of pH responsive and good tissue adhesive hydrogels (MA-HA/AA) based on methacryloyl hyaluronic acid (MA-HA) and acryloyl-6-aminocaproic acid (AA) via in situ photo-crosslinking were designed, and anti-inflammatory and pro-healing traditional Chinese medicines ginsenoside Rg1 was incorporated into the hydrogel to treat gastric tissue wound. These acid-responsive hydrogels could form effective acid-resistant barriers and could lead to hemostasis rapidly through its strong adhesion. Besides, the hydrogels contracted under an acidic environment, which could tighten the gastric tissue wounds and sustained release the loaded ginsenoside Rg1. In addition, the hydrogels showed excellent biocompatibility and in vivo degradability. In summary, the acid-responsive contractile hyaluronic acid hydrogel loaded with ginsenoside Rg1 had good properties for hemostasis and acid-resistance to facilitate the promotion of gastric wounds healing.