Imperial College London Scientists Develop Smart Hydrogel for Wound Healing

Cellular Traction Forces as a Therapeutic Trigger

A novel wound dressing described in Nature Materials utilizes aptamer constructs attached to biomaterial scaffolds. The technology is designed to selectively harvest, concentrate, and reactivate multiple endogenous growth factors according to the needs of cells at injury sites. Unlike conventional wound dressings that structurally support the wound but do not offer personalized healing benefits, this material remains inactive until a traction force on the dressing during wound healing occurs.

When a repair cell moves into the wound and pulls on the dressing, the bound proteins are released directly to that cell at the precise time and place where repair is happening.

“What particularly stands out with this research is that the patient’s own body becomes the pharmacy. We are not delivering a manufactured drug and hoping it survives long enough to work.”

Dr Ben Almquist, Associate Professor in Bioengineering, Co-Director of the Imperial Network of Excellence in Wound Healing and Regeneration, and senior author of the study

Preclinical and Ex Vivo Testing Across Species

The research team evaluated the technology across increasingly realistic experimental settings to observe how living tissues engage with the material. Testing confirmed that the dressings promoted vascularization in a rat model of femur injury and reduced wound diameter in mouse skin models after ten days. Furthermore, ex vivo tests utilizing living human skin models obtained from women undergoing abdominoplasty demonstrated that repair cells actively migrated into the dressing.

Lead researcher Magdalene Ho highlighted the significance of the human tissue results during evaluations of the material. The team emphasized that observing repair cells engaging with human biology in the lab builds optimism for future clinical translation.

“What excites me most is that this works in living human skin. We can see repair cells migrating into the wound dressing and confirm the material is engaging with human biology. That result makes me optimistic that this approach has a future in the clinic.”

Dr Magdalene Ho, Department of Bioengineering and lead author of the study

Clinical Implications for Hard-to-Heal Wounds

Millions of people each year have acute and chronic wounds that are unable to heal by themselves, including diabetic foot ulcers, large burn wounds, and non-union fractures. These difficult wounds require extensive clinical interventions, are extremely painful, and increase the risk of infection, mortality, and permanent disability. Wounds like diabetic foot ulcers, burns, and traumatic injuries cost the NHS billions every year.

“This is a major breakthrough in wound healing. We have known for a long time that the body is the best healer of wounds unless that system is disrupted. What this technology does is harness that system to get it back on track to heal wounds that the body is struggling to deal with.”

Mr Shehan Hettiaratchy OBE, Professor of Practice in Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery at Imperial