Higher Biostability of rh-aFGF-Carbomer 940 Hydrogel and Its Effect on Wound Healing in a Diabetic Rat Model

Qi Hui, Li Zhang, Xuanxin Yang, Bingjie Yu, Zhen Huang, Shucai Pang, Qingde Zhou, Rongshuai Yang, Wenqing Li, Lufeng Hu, Xiaokun Li, Gaozhong Cao, Xiaojie Wang

Index: 10.1021/acsbiomaterials.8b00011

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Abstract

Hydrogels are excellent drug delivery carriers with excellent ductility. Here, we report the design of a higher biostability of a recombinant human acidic fibroblast growth factor (rh-aFGF) carbomer hydrogel formulation. To verify the optimality of this formula, we prepared various prescriptions and tested the resulting physical properties including micromorphology, long-term stability, accelerated stability, and destructive test. Furthermore, the efficacy for promoting wound healing in full-thickness injury and scald wound diabetic rat models was explored. We found that rh-aFGF-carbomer hydrogel had good physical properties. It was stable for 24 months at 5 ± 3 °C, and for 6 months at 25 ± 3 °C. In vivo, the rh-aFGF-carbomer 940 hydrogel achieved a remarkable promotion of skin wound healing in diabetic rats with full-thickness injuries or scald wounds. Our data suggest that rh-aFGF-carbomer hydrogel may have applications for the treatment of diabetic ulcers combined with other wounds.