Ionically Conductive Wound Healing Patch for Anti-Inflammatory Electrical Stimulation Therapy
발표자
()
초록
내용
Wounds on the human skin are healed spontaneously by the endogenous electric field (EF), but systemic diseases and infection potentially lead to chronic wounds. As a therapeutic modality for chronic wounds, electrical stimulation (ES), the use of electrical current via electrodes placed directly within the wound by enhancing EF, has recently been proposed. However, existing metallic electrodes cannot provide an antibacterial microenvironment and stable wound interface due to their rigidity and Joule heating. Herein, we present a superabsorbent patchable hydrogel electrode (SaPhe) composed of an ionically conductive biopolymeric iongel. Notably, large amounts of accumulated ions at the wound interface induce capacitive current without the Joule heating, as ion pairs are rapidly dissociated by absorbed water in the SaPhe. In addition, the demonstration of the SaPhe-based ES therapy shows significant advancement in biocompatibility and long-term operability for wound management.