Hemp Protein Isolate-Based\nNatural Thermal-Reversible\nHydrogel as a Novel Wound Dressing Material

Hydrogels, due to their excellent microstructure and\nmechanical\nstrength, have become a novel biomaterial in wound dressing. However,\nplant proteins have never been considered because of their poor original\ngelling performances and insufficient rheological properties. Here,\nwe reported the fabrication of a plant protein-based thermal-reversible\ngel using a reverse micelle-extracted hemp protein isolate (HPI).\nA systematic study was conducted to fully reveal their microstructure,\nrheological properties, and anti-inflammatory effect to lay a foundation\nfor this newly developed plant protein hydrogel as a potential natural\nwound dressing. By modulating protein concentration (4% HPI) and temperature\n(85 °C), a thermal-reversible HPI gel appeared as a filament\nstructure with the major molecular driving force of hydrophobic interactions\nand hydrogen bonds. By characterizing the rheological properties,\nlower gel strength and wider linear viscoelastic regime were determined\nin the thermal-reversible HPI gel compared with a thermal-irreversible\nHPI gel. Besides, large amplitude oscillatory shear data identified\nthe thermal-reversible gel as a soft gel which demonstrated intracycle\nstrain stiffening and shear thinning behavior. Moreover, the thermal-reversible\nHPI gel is nontoxic and has benefits in neutrophil growth with injectability\nand perfect wound coverage. This study opens a novel means to form\na natural thermal-reversible hydrogel that can be a new material source\nfor wound dressing.