Vignesh Muthuvijayan

We have developed a novel hydrogel composed of konjac glucomannan (KGM), human hair proteins (KER), and an ethanolic extract of Avena sativa (OAT) and evaluated its potential as a dressing material for diabetic wounds. KGM is an excellent biocompatible gelling agent that stimulates fibroblast proliferation and immunomodulation. Human hair proteins (KER) are biocompatible, biodegradable, and possess abundant cell adhesion sites. KER also promotes fibroblast attachment and proliferation, keratinocyte migration, and collagen expression, which can accelerate wound healing. OAT consists of oat β-glucans and several anti-inflammatory and antioxidant moieties that can reduce prolonged inflammation in chronic wounds. SEM images confirm the highly porous architecture of the scaffolds. When immersed in PBS, KGM + KER + OAT hydrogels absorb 7.5 times their dry weight. These hydrogels display a measured rate of degradation in lysozyme. KGM + KER + OAT hydrogels showed no significant cytotoxicity against NIH/3T3 fibroblasts. DAPI and SEM images obtained after 48 h of cell culture illustrate the attachment and infiltration of fibroblasts. In vivo studies performed using a diabetic rat excision wound model showed that KGM + KER + OAT hydrogels significantly accelerated wound healing compared to the control and the KGM + KER hydrogels.

Treatment of chronic non-healing wounds in diabetes is still a major clinical challenge. Here, we have developed reduced graphene oxide (rGO) loaded isabgol nanocomposite scaffolds (Isab + rGO) to treat normal and diabetic wounds. rGO was synthesized by rapid reduction of graphene oxide (GO) under focused solar radiation. Then, rGO was uniformly dispersed into isabgol solution to prepare Isab + rGO nanocomposite scaffolds. These scaffolds were characterized using various physiochemical techniques. Isab + rGO nanocomposite scaffolds showed suitable cell viability, proliferation, and attachment. In vivo experiments were performed using Wistar rats to study the wound healing efficacy of these scaffolds in normal and diabetic rats. Results revealed that rGO stimulated collagen synthesis, collagen crosslinking, wound contraction, and reduced the wound re-epithelialization time significantly compared to control. Histology and immunohistochemistry analyses showed that Isab + rGO scaffold treatment enhanced angiogenesis, collagen synthesis, and deposition in treated wounds. Isab + rGO scaffold treatment also played a major role in shortening the inflammation phase and recruiting macrophages to enhance the early phase of wound healing. Overall, this investigation showed that Isab + rGO scaffold dressing could significantly accelerate the healing of normal and diabetic wounds.