Microneedle-loaded hybrid extracellular vesicles promote diabetic wound healing

This is the authors' abstract. We don't add key points for this paper.

Chronic diabetic wounds result from a disrupted microenvironment where oxidative stress, impaired angiogenesis, and persistent infection create a vicious cycle that delays healing. Unfortunately, existing treatments often fail to address these interrelated issues, resulting in suboptimal healing. Here, we propose a base-tip dual-component hydrogel microneedle (MN) system (GBEVs-pVEGF/AgNPs@MNs), consisting of a tip loaded with plant-bacterial hybrid extracellular vesicles (GBEVs-pVEGF) and a base containing silver nanoparticles (AgNPs). Upon penetrating the necrotic tissue of diabetic wounds, our multifunctional MNs could effectively deliver GBEVs-pVEGF, thereby alleviating oxidative stress, promoting cell migration, and facilitating angiogenesis. Additionally, the physical barrier formed by the basal layer synergistically mitigates persistent bacterial infections during wound healing in conjunction with the antimicrobial agent AgNPs. This multifunctional MN system, integrating antioxidant, angiogenic, and antimicrobial properties, effectively restores the disrupted wound microenvironment, offering significant potential for accelerating diabetic wound healing.