Novel silver and nanoparticle-encapsulated growth factor co-loaded chitosan composite hydrogel with sustained antimicrobility and promoted biological properties for diabetic wound healing.

Diabetic foot ulcer, one of the most common diabetic complications, is a progressive wound occurred on the skin with irregularly delayed wound healing rate due to impaired metabolism and weak immune responses. Such chronic wound remains a serious healthcare burden to the diabetics since it is often associated with high risk of limb loss due to amputation and leads to a reduced survival consequently. To improve the efficiency of diabetic wound healing, a synthetic chitosan-based composite hydrogel named SNPCHG incorporating silver ions (Ag) and nanoparticle-encapsulated epidermal growth factor (EGF) was developed in this study.