Development of pro-angiogenic wound dressings from 2-deoxy-D-ribose (2dDR)-loaded decellularized plant leaves

Traditional wound dressings are essential for the treatment of acute and superficial wounds. However, complex wounds require the use of bioactive dressings that promote healing alongside providing a safe barrier for the coverage of the wound site. The addition of growth factors is usually the primary choice to fabricate functionalized wound dressing. However, it is also the main reason for the increase in the cost of a wound dressing and may be associated with several drawbacks, such as the need for a precise drug delivery system to be able to be administered at a narrow effective dose range. 2-deoxy-D-ribose (2dDR) is a cost-effective and promising pro-angiogenic agent that indirectly stimulates vascular endothelial growth factor production to stimulate angiogenesis, and consecutively accelerate wound healing. In this study, we aimed to fabricate a novel wound dressing from 2dDR-loaded decellularized spinach leaves and evaluated its bioactivity on human endothelial cells in vitro. Our results demonstrated that a biocompatible wound dressing biomaterial could successfully be fabricated via the decellularization of spinach leaves using chemical decellularization. The success of decellularization was confirmed quantitatively and qualitatively via determination of the DNA content and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, respectively. 2dDR was then easily incorporated into the dressings via physical absorption and released from them in 5 days. The release of 2dDR-releasing decellularized spinach leaves was observed to increase the viability and metabolic activity of human endothelial cells in vitro over 7 days. In conclusion, we demonstrated the fabrication of a novel functionalized biomaterial combining decellularized plant tissues with a promising pro-angiogenic agent, and 2dDR-loaded decellularized spinach leaves appear to have great potential to be used as a bioactive wound dressing to promote angiogenesis and, consecutively, wound healing.