Wenshuai Liu, PhD | Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences; Weiwei Wang, PhD; Litao Jia, PhD; Yifei Li, PhD
Competition Sponsor: Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences
Awardee Year: 2025
Diabetic wound repair forms a vicious cycle due to three major pathological factors: bacterial infection, persistent inflammation, and impaired angiogenesis. Moreover, the formation of drug-resistant bacterial biofilms and the accumulation of mitochondrial reactive oxygen species further exacerbate the condition, while traditional dressings have limited efficacy, making it a key challenge in clinical treatment. Amid the trends of biomedical material innovation and the development of wound treatment technologies, developing novel dressings with multiple synergistic therapeutic functions has become an effective path to break through the bottleneck of diabetic wound repair, and also provides an important direction for addressing clinical treatment dilemmas. This study focuses on the key technologies of intelligent bioactive hydrogels, constructs a new wound repair system through molecular and structural synergistic design: a mitochondrial-targeted liposome delivery system for endothelial cells is established to scavenge mitochondrial reactive oxygen species and improve endothelial cell function; meanwhile, matrix metalloproteinase-responsive chemical bonds are utilized to achieve controlled release of antimicrobial peptides, synchronously realizing antibacterial, anti-inflammatory, and pro-angiogenic effects; in addition, a bionic strategy is adopted to construct a three-dimensional porous network that simulates the extracellular matrix, supporting cell adhesion and tissue regeneration to facilitate the wound repair process. The research team aims to provide a new type of dressing for diabetic wound treatment, control the key risk factors of wound repair through technological innovation, improve the wound healing quality of diabetic patients, and offer strong support for promoting technological progress and clinical transformation in the field of wound repair.