A novel wound dressing based on epigallocatechin-3-gallate self-assemble hydrogels promotes effects on wound healing

Epigallocatechin-3-gallate (EGCG) is an excellent natural product that is beneficial to wound healing, but the easy oxidation of EGCG limits its wide application. Herein, we employed the supramolecular hydrogel Nap-Phe-Phe-Tyr (NapFFY) to encapsulate EGCG for their sustained release in wound areas to promote healing activity in rats modal. The EGCG hydrogel can prolong the action time of EGCG on the wound surface. In vitro experiments indicated that co-assembly of EGCG with NapFFY enabled a sustained release of EGCG for more than 48 h. In vivo experiments supported that sustained release of EGCG from EGCG-NapFFY (1:2) could effectively improve wound healing effect compared with pure EGCG. We anticipated that the combination of polyphenols and supramolecular hydrogel can be potentially exploited to craft strategies for the acceleration of wound healing and skin regeneration.