Tailored Hydrogel Delivering Niobium Carbide Boosts ROS-Scavenging and Antimicrobial Activities for Diabetic Wound Healing

Abstract

The treatment of diabetic wounds remains challenging due to the excess levels of oxidative stress, vulnerability to bacterial infection, and persistent inflammation response during healing. The development of hydrogel wound dressings with ideal anti-inflammation, antioxidant, and anti-infective properties is an urgent clinical requirement. In the present study, an injectable thermosensitive niobium carbide (Nb₂ C)-based hydrogel (Nb₂ C@Gel) with antioxidative and antimicrobial activity is developed to promote diabetic wound healing. The Nb₂ C@Gel system is composed of Nb₂ C and a PLGA-PEG-PLGA triblock copolymer. The fabricated Nb₂ C nanosheets (NSs) show good biocompatibility during in vitro cytotoxicity and hemocompatibility assays and in vivo toxicity assays. In vitro experiments show that Nb₂ C NSs can efficiently eliminate reactive oxygen species (ROS), thus protecting cells in the wound from oxidative stress damage. Meanwhile, Nb₂ C NSs also exhibit good near-infrared (NIR) photothermal antimicrobial activity against both Staphylococcus aureus and Escherichia coli. In vivo results demonstrate that Nb₂ C@Gel promotes wound healing by attenuating ROS levels, reducing oxidative damage, eradicating bacterial infection under NIR irradiation, and accelerating angiogenesis. To summarize, the Nb₂ C@Gel system, with its ROS-scavenging, photothermal antimicrobial and hemostatic activities, can be a promising and effective strategy for the treatment of diabetic wounds.

Keywords: antimicrobial performance; diabetic wound healing; niobium carbide; oxidative stress; thermosensitive hydrogels.