Bin LIU

Living Materials for Wound Healing

Chronic wounds that are hard to heal pose a significant global public health challenge due to their limited treatments caused by bacterial infections and microcirculatory disturbances. Recently, we have developed an artificial skin through a bioengineering approach that sandwiches bacterial cellulose between photosensitizers and functionalized living cells. Glucose-modified photosensitizer (TBG) and vascular endothelial growth factor (Vegf)-functionalized living cells (HCVegf) were respectively modified on opposite sides of bacterial cellulose (BC) through biological metabolism and bioorthogonal reaction. The TBG layer, as the outermost layer, efficiently generates reactive oxygen species upon illumination to combat bacterial infections. HCVegf layer, the inner layer near diabetic wound, serves as a living factory for continuous delivery of Vegf to promote fibroblast proliferation and angiogenesis, thereby accelerating wound repair. Both in vitro and in vivo results demonstrated that the administration of HCVegf-BC-TBG significantly enhanced the healing process of infected diabetic wounds. Moreover, our results confirmed that this artificial skin is non-toxic and immune compatible, rendering it a promising next-generation medical therapy for the management of infected chronic wounds.