Improving the healing of chronic wounds

Around 300 million people worldwide suffer from chronic wounds. Treating them is a major challenge: bacteria often remain in the wound cavities, repeatedly triggering inflammation and thus preventing healing. Scientists at the University of Siegen are working with colleagues from eight European countries to research a new form of therapy. In the INJECTHEAL project, they want to develop a 4D hydrogel that can be used to better treat chronic wounds. The entire project is being funded with a total of 7.3 million euros as part of the EU's Horizon Europe program.

In future, the multifunctional hydrogel is to be applied directly to chronic wounds in order to release various active ingredients on site. "You can think of it as a kind of construction foam that fills the entire wound space," explains Prof. Dr. Holger Schönherr, head of the "Physical Chemistry I" working group at the University of Siegen. The gel contains encapsulated substances that kill bacteria and reduce inflammation. At the same time, other active ingredients support the regeneration of the tissue. "This combination is new. It could revolutionize the treatment of chronic wounds," says Schönherr.

The team at the University of Siegen is receiving around 800,000 euros in funding as part of the project to develop a process for encapsulating the active ingredients. Specifically, the aim is to produce special polymers from which microscopically small capsules can be formed, explains Dr. Stephan Schandl: "We then insert these capsules filled with active ingredients into the gel. It is crucial that the capsules gradually release the substances so that they can have a locally targeted and lasting effect via the gel."

At the University of Siegen, the research is based at theResearch Center of Micro and Nanochemistry and (Bio)Technology(Cμ), which brings together expertise from the fields of micro- and nanochemistry, sensor development and new (bio)materials. In future, the project team will also use the state-of-the-art infrastructure of the new INCYTE research building, which will soon be put into operation, for its laboratory work.

In order to realize the hydrogel system, the scientists involved in INJECTHEAL are working hand in hand across national borders. The active ingredients are produced at the University of Brighton (England). While the Siegen project team is researching the optimal encapsulation, researchers at the Politecnico di Torino (Italy) are developing a pectin and gelatine-based hydrogel as a carrier system. It is important that the gel is biocompatible and degrades itself over time, allowing the body's own cells to regrow and close the wound.

The international consortium includes universities and leading research centers. The consortium's industrial partner, the British biotechnology company Tissue Click, is contributing its expertise in the field of biomimetic intelligent materials in order to transfer the hydrogel technology from laboratory research to clinical application. The project team will also work closely with doctors and patients. The aim is to develop the hydrogel to such an extent by the end of the project that its use in humans could be tested in a follow-up project.

"The procedure requires the interaction of many different components. It will therefore be some time before patients benefit from it," says Stephan Schandl. "But the prospect of being able to help people with chronic wounds better in the future is a great motivation for us."