A poloxamer/hyaluronic acid/chitosan-based thermosensitive hydrogel that releases dihydromyricetin to promote wound healing

Abstract

Wounds caused by accidents and surgery are inevitable, and inflammation and microbial infection during the healing process are serious clinical challenges, resulting in slow wound healing. In this study, we created a 37 °C-sensitive hydrogel using poloxamer, chitosan and hyaluronic acid, loaded with the active substance dihydromyricetin, and further evaluated its potential for wound healing. The hydrogels were characterized by scanning electron microscopy, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction and thermogravimetric analysis for their micromorphological structure, characteristic functional groups, crystal structure and thermal stability, and in vitro drug release assays showed that the hydrogel could slowly release dihydromyricetin. In addition, the hydrogels were found to exhibit good biocompatibility and significant in vitro antioxidant and anti-inflammatory activity according to hemolysis, in vitro antioxidant and anti-inflammatory tests. Methyl thiazolyl tetrazole cytotoxicity tests verified that the film was non-toxic to human keratinocyte (HaCaT) cells, while in vivo experiments showed that this hydrogel could promote skin repair by promoting skin-associated growth factor expression and inhibiting nuclear factor kappa B-mediated cellular inflammatory factors. These results demonstrated that the temperature-sensitive hydrogels loaded with dihydromyricetin could serve as potential candidates for guided skin repair.