Multifunctional selenium nanoparticles/gelatin-based nanocomposite hydrogel adhesive for accelerated full-thickness wound healing

Wound dressings with tissue adhesion, good mechanical, antioxidant and anti-inflammatory performance are urgently needed. In this work, we present a multifunctional selenium nanoparticles (SeNPs)/citric acid/gelatin/hydroxysuccinimide-grafted polyacrylic acid nanocomposite hydrogel adhesive (SCA) specifically designed for wound healing applications. The SCA was prepared via a one-pot processing, where SeNPs synthesized via chemical reduction were incorporated. These SeNPs not only endowed SCA with robust wet adhesion ability, excellent stretchability, and skin-matched elasticity modulus by serving as a physical crosslinker to modulate swelling equilibrium and molecular slippage, but also enhanced the biocompatibility and free radical scavenging capacity of SCA. Furthermore, in vivo evaluation of full-thickness cutaneous defects of rats revealed that SCA effectively reduced inflammation, promoted wound closure, and increased collagen deposition. All these results demonstrated that the developed SCA offers a promising therapeutic strategy for wound healing applications.