A self-assembling bioactive oligopeptide hydrogel for the treatment of edema following prepuce surgery

Edema of the prepuce is a common clinical complication following circumcision in urology. Nevertheless, the principal method of gauze wrapping in clinical practice has not yet been demonstrated to be an effective solution to the problem of postoperative edema. It is therefore evident that the development of functional dressings for the treatment of post-circumcision edema has considerable potential for both clinical application and translational significance. The objective of this study was to develop a single-component bioactive oligopeptide hydrogel dressing with favorable anti-inflammatory, pro-angiogenesis properties and biosafety for the treatment of edema following prepuce surgery. A hexapeptide (Ac-FFFGHK-OH) hydrogelator was designed and synthesized through the N-terminal modification of a human-derived glycine-histidine-lysine tripeptide (GHK) with an