Biomimetic electric interface-mediated cellular activation promotes diabetic wound healing via self-powered wearable thermoelectric patch

Exogenous electrical-field stimulation has been demonstrated as a pivotal means for accelerating chronic wound healing. However, its inhomogeneous electrical-field distribution along the depth axis would result in localized overstimulation and insufficient cellular activation, motivating the need of innovative electrical stimulation modalities to achieve controllable cellular modulation. In this work, we develop a spatially uniform microcurrent stimulation driven by a self-powered wearable Ag₂Se thermoelectric patch integrated with a conductive hydrogel. The mechanically adaptive hydrogel conforms seamlessly to complex wound topographies, functioning as a conductive medium to deliver physiologically-relevant microcurrent across the interfaces of hydrogel-cells for cellular activation. Sustained stimulation of ∼6 μA microcurrent, generated by thermoelectric device harnessing natural skin-ambient temperature gradients, multifunctionally promotes the migration and proliferation of fibroblasts cells, and regulates the expression of cytokines and signaling pathways related to wound repair. These consequences effectively mitigate inflammation and expedite neovascularization and tissue-remodeling, demonstrating the biomimetic microcurrent stimulation as a sustainable therapeutic strategy for the diabetic wound healing.