Marine polymers-alginate/chitosan composited microcapsules for wound healing

Skin damage is a serious problem that has attracted remarkable attention. Novel wound dressings with optimized compositional and structural design that could adapt to the wound area are highly expected. In this study, we prepare marine polymer composite microcapsules via microfluidic electrospray for promoting wound healing. An alginate (ALG) core and a chitosan (CS) shell formed microcapsules through polyelectrolyte complexation and glutaraldehyde cross-linking. Such composition ensures the great biocompatibility and antibacterial capacity of the microcapsules. Besides, vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) can be loaded into the microcapsules as well as released in a sustainable way. Based on these advantages, the microcapsules are casted on the wound site and their roles in inhibiting bacterial growth and promoting angiogenesis during wound closure are demonstrated. These results confirm the values of the microcapsules in wound healing, and we believe that would find potential clinical applications.