Diabetic foot ulcers are chronic wounds that affect millions and increase the risk of amputation and mortality, highlighting the critical need for their early detection. Recent demonstrations of wearable sensors enable real‐time wound assessment, but they rely on bulky electronics, making them difficult to interface with wounds. Herein, a miniaturized, wireless, battery‐free wound monitor that measures lactate in real‐time and seamlessly integrates with bandages for conformal attachment to the wound bed is introduced. Lactate is selected due to its multifaceted role in initiating healing. Studies in healthy and diabetic mice reveal distinct lactate profiles for normal and impaired healing wounds. A mathematical model based on the sensor data predicts wound closure rate within the first 3 days post‐injury with ≈76% accuracy, which increases to ≈83% when pH is included. These studies underscore the significance of monitoring biomarkers during the inflammation phase, which can offer several benefits, including short‐term use of wound monitors and their easy removal, resulting in lower risks of injury and infection at the wound site. Improvements in prediction accuracy can be achieved by designing mathematical models that build on multiple wound parameters such as pro‐inflammatory and metabolic markers. Achieving this goal will require designing multi‐analyte wound monitors.
Diabetes mellitus affects an increasing proportion of the population, and is projected to double by 2060. Comorbidities contribute to an interrupted healing process which is delayed, prolonged, and associated with increased susceptibility to infection and unresolved inflammation. This leads to chronic nonhealing wounds and potential amputation. Here, the use of a bioactive angiogenic peptide‐based hydrogel, SLan, is examined to improve early wound healing in diabetic rats, and its performance is compared to clinically utilized biosynthetic peptide‐based materials such as Puramatrix. Streptozotocin‐treated diabetic rats underwent 8 mm biopsy wounding in their dorsum. Wounds are treated with either Low (1 w%) SLan, High (4 w%) SLan, phosphate buffered saline (PBS), Puramatrix, or K2 (an unfunctionalized nonbioactive control sequentially similar to SLan), covered with Tegaderm, and monitored on for a month; animals are sacrificed for histomorphic analyses and immunostaining. Pharmacokinetic analysis showing no trafficking of peptides from the wound into the circulation. SLan groups show similar wound contraction as control groups (Puramatrix, PBS, and K2), however, showing marked improvement in healing in earlier time points, including increased deposition of new mature blood vessels. Altogether the results suggest this material can be used to “jumpstart” the diabetic wound healing process.
more » « less- NSF-PAR ID:
- 10369000
- Publisher / Repository:
- Wiley Blackwell (John Wiley & Sons)
- Date Published:
- Journal Name:
- Macromolecular Bioscience
- Volume:
- 22
- Issue:
- 7
- ISSN:
- 1616-5187
- Format(s):
- Medium: X
- Sponsoring Org:
- National Science Foundation
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