Novel Supramolecular Hydrogel for Infected Diabetic Foot Ulcer Treatment

Multifunctional responsive hydrogels hold significant promise for diabetic foot ulcer (DFU) treatment, though their complex design and manufacturing present challenges. This study introduces a novel supramolecular guanosine-phenylboronic-chlorogenic acid (GBC) hydrogel developed using a dynamic covalent strategy. The hydrogel forms through guanosine quadruplex assembly in the presence of potassium ions and chlorogenic acid (CA) linkage via dynamic borate bonds. GBC hydrogels exhibit pH and glucose responsiveness, releasing more chlorogenic acid under acidic and high glucose conditions due to borate bond dissociation and G-quadruplex (G4) hydrogel disintegration. Experimental results indicate that GBC hydrogels exhibit good self-healing, shear-thinning, injectability, and swelling properties. Both in vitro and in vivo studies demonstrate the GBC hydrogel's good biocompatibility, ability to eliminate bacteria and reactive oxygen species (ROS), facilitate macrophage polarization from the M1 phenotype to the M2 phenotype (decreasing CD86 expression and increasing CD206 expression), exhibit anti-inflammatory effects (reducing TNF-alpha expression and increasing IL-10 expression), and promote angiogenesis (increasing VEGF, CD31, and alpha-SMA expression). Thus, GBC hydrogels accelerate DFU healing and enhance tissue remodeling and collagen deposition. This work provides a new approach to developing responsive hydrogels to expedite DFU healing. The study introduces a novel supramolecular guanosine-phenylboronic-chlorogenic acid (GBC) hydrogel with pH and glucose responsiveness, designed for diabetic foot ulcer (DFU) treatment. This hydrogel, formed via dynamic covalent bonds, shows good self-healing, injectability, and biocompatibility. It effectively releases chlorogenic acid in response to acidic and high-glucose environments, promoting DFU healing through antibacterial and anti-inflammatory actions. image