Near-Infrared-Responsive Nanofiber Hydrogel with Gradual Drug Release Properties for Wound Healing

Hydrogels are widely used as wound healing dressings to repair wound tissues because of their good biocompatibility. However, issues of excessive swelling and the disordered release of loaded drugs remain to be addressed in practical wound-healing applications. In this study, we designed a near-infrared- (NIR-) responsive composite nanofiber-based hydrogel patch (NIR-NFHP). The nanofibers embedded in the hydrogel inhibited its swelling, such that the swelling rate of the composite was only 1.3. Meanwhile, during the proliferative phase of wound healing, the orderly and stable release of deferoxamine through the on/off NIR response achieved a controlled and hierarchical release of drugs. During the acute inflammatory phase of wound healing, the fast release of valsartan provided a strong anti-inflammatory environment. The synergistic effects of anti-inflammatory and vascularization responses achieved improved the wound healing rate up to 95%. Based on its antiswelling effects as well as the controlled and hierarchical release of drugs, we believed that this NIR-responsive nanofiber hydrogel patch has broad prospects for applications as a dressing in the field of wound healing.