Recently, the Chronic Wound Care Team from the School of Nursing, Wenzhou Medical University, published an online research paper entitled "A ROS scavenging multifunctional hydrogel crosslinked with EGCG promotes the healing of pressure injuries via Nrf2 pathway" in Chemical Engineering Journal (IF=13.2, CAS Region 1 TOP Journal). This study developed a multifunctional hydrogel using the natural antioxidant EGCG as a crosslinking agent, which scavenges reactive oxygen species (ROS) and regulates the Nrf2 signaling pathway, providing a novel strategy for chronic wound care interventions in pressure injuries.
Formerly known as pressure ulcers or bedsores, pressure injuries are among the most common chronic wounds in long-term bedridden patients, the elderly, and people with limited mobility. They not only cause severe suffering to patients and prolong hospital stays but also pose a major challenge in clinical nursing practice. The refractory nature of pressure injuries stems from their complex wound microenvironment: excessive ROS induced by ischemia-reperfusion injury triggers a "cascade" vicious cycle involving persistent inflammation, impaired angiogenesis, and abnormal degradation of the extracellular matrix, leading to delayed wound healing.
Addressing the pain points in clinical care, the research team developed a multifunctional hydrogel (HPE) based on the natural antioxidant EGCG. This injectable hydrogel perfectly conforms to complex wounds and releases drugs on demand in high-ROS regions through a smart responsive mechanism, representing a breakthrough in nursing philosophy from "passive coverage" to "active repair". Animal experiments confirmed that the HPE hydrogel significantly alleviates oxidative stress damage, promotes neovascularization and collagen deposition, breaks the vicious cycle of chronic inflammation, and initiates tissue regeneration, offering a novel intervention target for pressure injury care. Its excellent biocompatibility and ease of operation endow it with broad application prospects in complex wound care.
In recent years, the team led by Professor Cai Fuman from our university has established a Research Center for Chronic Wound Care, built a research laboratory capable of independently conducting basic and AI research on chronic wound care, promoted interdisciplinary talent introduction and cultivation, and carried out cross-institutional scientific research cooperation. Focusing on the mechanistic research and artificial intelligence assessment of pressure injuries, the team has previously published more than 30 important research outcomes on the pathogenesis and intelligent nursing assessment of pressure injuries in authoritative journals at home and abroad, including British Journal of Dermatology (IF=9.6), Journal of Advanced Research (IF=13.0), and Chinese Journal of Nursing. The team has been awarded the Second Prize of the Chinese Nursing Association Science and Technology Award, the First Prize of the Zhejiang Nursing Association Science and Technology Award, and its papers have been recognized with the Wiley China Highly Contributed Author Award and the Chinese Nursing Association Top 100 Excellent Papers.
The team has also actively promoted the transformation of scientific research achievements, social services, and talent cultivation. It has been granted 10 national invention patents and several utility model patents in this field, with 2 invention patents successfully transformed and put into production. Meanwhile, relying on the fifth "International School of Ostomy Therapists" in China, the team has successfully held 16 training sessions since 2009, cultivating more than 370 international ostomy therapists for 32 provinces, municipalities, autonomous regions, Hong Kong and Macao across the country. The team has also fed scientific research achievements back into teaching, guiding students to win over 0 provincial and ministerial-level awards, including the First Prize in the "Challenge Cup" National College Students' Extracurricular Academic Science and Technology Works Competition and the Gold Award in the Zhejiang Provincial College Students' Extracurricular Academic Science and Technology Works Competition.
Postdoctoral Fellow Pan Yingying and Master's student Lou Jiaying from the School of Nursing are co-first authors of the paper. Professor Cai Fuman, Researcher Li Huaqiong, and Associate Researcher Yang Dejun from the Wenzhou Institute of the University of Chinese Academy of Sciences are co-corresponding authors.
Paper Link:https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S1385894726022515
