Caprine Pancreatic ECM-Derived Self-Assembling Non-Swelling Hydrogel for Enhanced Angiogenesis and Scarless Wound Healing In Vivo

Extracellular matrix (ECM)-derived hydrogels hold great promise as biomaterial scaffolds for tissue engineering and wound care due to their inherent biocompatibility and bioactivity. This study developed a novel self-assembled hydrogel from caprine pancreatic ECM and evaluated its wound-healing potential. The hydrogel exhibited appropriate gelation kinetics, retained key ECM components (collagen and sGAG), and demonstrated excellent biodegradability, hemocompatibility, and cytocompatibility. Its low porosity and antiswelling properties supported stable wound contact, preventing tissue compression or patch displacement. In vivo evaluation in a Wistar rat full-thickness wound model showed accelerated, scarless healing with enhanced collagen deposition, angiogenesis, and re-epithelialization. These findings underscore the hydrogel's promise as a biocompatible, effective scaffold for wound repair and regeneration.