Curcumin-pectin based cotton patch for electro-assisted wound healing and behavioural monitoring

Abstract

Wound healing is a complex biological process essential for restoring tissue integrity. Delayed or non-healing skin wounds can lead to serious complications, including infection, scarring, clotting, and hemorrhage. Therefore, promoting tissue regeneration, remodeling, and effective wound monitoring is crucial. Electrical stimulation (ES) generated by triboelectric nanogenerators (TENGs) has recently attracted significant attention for accelerating wound healing. In this study, a TENG-powered wound-healing patch was developed using bio-derived pectin and curcumin. These active materials showed good in vitro antibacterial and anti-inflammatory properties, along with a pH-responsive release suitable for infected wound environments. Additionally, the wound-healing patch showed excellent in vitro biocompatibility and accelerated cell migration under ES generated by the TENG device. The TENG device generated electrical output voltage, current, and power of 60 V, 160 nA, and 2.7 & micro;W at 500 M ohm, respectively. In vivo animal studies confirmed accelerated wound healing with the self-powered wound-healing patch within 9 days. Notably, this study reports a biomaterial-based, multifunctional, self-powered wound-healing patch that combines antibacterial, anti-inflammatory, and pH-responsive therapeutic capabilities. Furthermore, a wearable TENG device was demonstrated for real-time pain assessment in an animal model. This study presents a self-powered, low-cost, easy-to-fabricate patch for both wound healing and monitoring, with promising potential for wearable healthcare technologies.