A poly(γ-glutamic acid)-based hydrogel loaded with superoxide dismutase for wound healing

The purpose of this study was to develop a poly(γ-glutamic acid) (γ-PGA)-based hydrogel loaded with superoxide dismutase (SOD) to accelerate wound healing. First, γ-PGA was modified with taurine (γ-PGAS), and then the SOD-loaded γ-PGAS/γ-PGA hydrogel (SOD-PGAS/PGA-H) was prepared by cross-linking of ethylene glycol diglycidyl ether. The swelling behavior and water vapor transmission rate revealed that PGAS/PGA-H could create a moist environment for wound surface. In vitro kinetics of SOD release showed that SOD released from PGAS/PGA-H maintained high activity and SOD-PGAS/PGA-H effectively scavenged the superoxide anion. The results of our fibroblast proliferation experiments showed that PGAS/PGA-H had good cytocompatibility. The effects of SOD-PGAS/PGA-H on wound healing were examined in a Type I diabetic rat model with full-thickness wounds. Twenty-one days after grafted to wounds, SOD-PGAS/PGA-H exhibited a higher rate of wound healing than control group and showed increased collagen deposition and epithelialization. SOD-PGAS/PGA-H seems to promote better wound healing and thus might be a promising candidate for wound healing management. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 2015 , 132 , 42033.