Self-assembled proteinaceous wound dressings attenuate secondary trauma and improve wound healing in vivo

Abstract

A new type of wound dressing that can be easily peeled from a wound during frequent changes is essential in clinical applications to reduce secondary trauma and relieve the pain suffered by patients. Here, we discover that a phase-transitioned lysozyme nanofilm (PTLF) composed of self-assembled protein nanoparticles with an amyloid-like internal structure can be disassembled and detached from a substrate surface under the stimulus of vitamin C solution. Accordingly, stimuli-responsive gauze coated with this phase-transitioned lysozyme nanofilm (PTLF@gauze) was developed. This novel wound dressing, PLTF@gauze, was fabricated through a simple, universal and environmentally benign approach by immersing pristine gauze in the lysozyme phase transition aqueous solution for minutes. In comparison with pristine gauze, the PTLF@gauze can be peeled from a mouse wound with less strength, causing less secondary trauma. This is due to the disassembly and detachment of the PTLF from the gauze in the presence of vitamin C, which is entirely different from normal low-adherent wound dressings based on anti-fouling. Additionally, the PTLF@gauze was shown to accelerate wound closure using a murine wound healing model owing to the anti-infection properties of PTLF. This work thus provides an effective surface modification method for medical devices and suggests the great potential applications of self-assembled proteinaceous coatings in wound care.