Biomimetic ECM hydrogels loaded with ADSCs and polydopamine nanoparticles for chronic wound healing

Adipose-derived stem cells (ADSCs) have proven to be valuable in chronic wounds treatment, while their applications often suffer from low survival rates in complex wound environments. Here, we developed a novel biomimetic extracellular matrix (ECM)-like chondroitin sulfate (ChS) hydrogel loaded with ADSCs and polydopamine nanoparticles (PDA NPs) to accelerate chronic wound healing. We have demonstrated that the ChS-based hydrogel could mimick ECM, promoting cell proliferation and migration, and the PDA NPs exhibited antioxidative and antibacterial effects. Thus, the hybrid hydrogel was identified to promote diabetic wound healing by supporting ADSCs’ survival, enhancing angiogenesis, re-epithelialization, and reducing inflammation. These results indicated that our proposed ADSCs and PDA integrated biomimetic ECM-like hydrogel had practical significance in treating chronic wounds and different clinical diseases.