Characterization of Sucrose-Impregnated Crystalline Glucose/Mannose Films as Moisturizing Wound Dressings and Their Significant Healing Effect on Deep Wounds in a Rat Model

Crystalline glucose/mannose film (G/M) demonstrated excellent water absorptivity and a high vapor transmission rate. The film had excellent wound healing performance. However, the crystallinity of the G/M tended to be disrupted when swollen, leading to a loss of mechanical strength. Herein, novel sucrose-impregnated G/M dressings were prepared to overcome this shortcoming. Sucrose has been claimed to promote angiogenesis and re-epithelization. This study evaluated the additive effect of sucrose on G/M films at different concentrations (G/M-0% (G/M-H₂O), G/M-30% sucrose, and G/M-70% sucrose) regarding their material properties and wound healing performance. Both sucrose-impregnated G/M films demonstrated a lower degree of decrease in crystallinity than the control G/M-H₂O film. This resulted in a significant improvement in stress and elongation at break for G/M-70% sucrose. In the in vivo study, G/M-70% sucrose was most effective in deep wound healing compared to other sucrose concentrations, with complete wound closure at 1 week. This was evidenced by the early regeneration of the mature epidermal layer, which promoted angiogenesis and the deposition of thicker and oriented collagen fibers. This study demonstrated the additive effect of sucrose on G/M, suggesting that the novel sucrose-impregnated G/M dressing is a promising candidate for deep wound healing.