Accelerated wound healing with an ionic patch assisted by a triboelectric nanogenerator

Abstract

Electrical stimulation therapy has recently been suggested as a therapeutic modality to accelerate wound healing. Despite advancements in the development of flexible electronic devices for rapid wound recovery, current systems, which are fabricated from various metals, have mechanical discontinuities that have not been fully resolved, making them unsuitable for wearable applications. Here, we introduce a wearable ionic triboelectric nanogenerator (iTENG) patch, composed of a fully stretchable gel-based platform comprising a TENG, wire, and patch that harvests biophysical energy and delivers electric potential to an impaired tissue. Ionically conductive and stretchable organogel fibers in an elastomeric microtubular structure act as both a stretchable wire and a wearable generator as they are woven like fabric. The elastomeric film-encapsulated ionic patch is multifunctional, serving as both a wound dressing and an electrode. It provides a uniform and symmetrical electric field directly to a wound bed. The electric field generated by an iTENG was shown to accelerate in vitro cell migration, proliferation, and secretion of angiogenic growth factors in studies on both normal human dermal fibroblasts and dermal fibroblasts from diabetes mellitus patients. Rapid wound closure by electrical stimulation using iTENG patches in in vivo animal models has also been verified.