Dopamine-functionalized chondroitin sulfate/gelatin-based composite hydrogels for enhancing wound healing and bone regeneration

Severe trauma not only damages the skin, but also affects the bones, causing osteoarthritis or bone defects. Traditional treatment strategies (such as sutures, metal stents, etc.) have problems with the need for a second surgery and difficulty in degradation, which cannot meet the treatment expectations of clinical doctors well. As the novel biomedical material, hydrogels have great potential in the treatment of bone defects due to the advantages of seamless filling, degradability and easy operation. Here, we designed a composite hydrogel (Gel-Gym/HS-Dopa) composed of glycidyl methacrylate-modified gelatin (Gel-Gym) and dopamine-functionalized chondroitin sulfate (HS-Dopa). The hydrogel exhibited good tissue adhesion, self-healing, biodegradability, anti-inflammatory and biocompatibility. In animal experiments, Gel-Gym/HS-Dopa hydrogel could significantly promote the rat skin wound healing and bone defect reconstruction in vivo. Therefore, the hydrogel was promising as a potential deep trauma dressing.