Sequential Integration of Microenvironment Regulation Utilizing Aggregation‐Induced Emission Luminogen‐Based Carbon Dots for Diabetic Wound Treatment
Effective management of diabetic wound healing remains challenging due to the complex wound microenvironment, characterized by persistent infections and inflammation, as well as obstacles in tissue repair, including impaired extracellular matrix (ECM) remodeling and re-epithelialization. Herein, we propose a sequential integrating microenvironment regulation and re-epithelialization promotion (SIMREP) strategy based on zinc-doped glycyrrhizinate carbon dots loaded with aggregation-induced emission luminogens (AIEgens), namely TTPy-Zn@GCDs for accelerated diabetic wound healing. TTPy-Zn@GCDs effectively inhibit bacterial infection through AIEgen-based photodynamic therapy and promote the M2-phenotype polarization of macrophages by eliminating reactive oxygen species. Remarkably, TTPy-Zn@GCDs not only present a superior ECM remodeling ability by suppressing the overexpression of matrix metalloproteinase (MMP)-9 in diabetic wounds, but also promote keratinocyte migration and accelerate the re-epithelialization process by activating the hypoxia-inducible factor-1α (HIF-1α) signaling pathway. Together, the SIMREP strategy offers a promising approach for accelerating the healing process of infected diabetic wounds.
Authors
- Zhijin Fan (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0018-4949)
- Bowen Shu (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9704-2471)
- Judun Zheng (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5016-700X)
- Ronghua Yang (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9685-7003)
- Yuhui Liao (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4702-9516)
- Qihu Xie
- Zeyu Liu (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9475-1582)
- Dong Wang (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5137-0771)
- Yinghui Liu (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4717-2147)
- Hongfang Liu (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4352-2533)
- Xu Chen (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0008-2210-3875)
- Yunxia Wu
- Minghai Zhao
- Kexiang Rao
- Qin Zeng
- Bin Li
- Zhijun Zhang
- Jialin Huang
- Sitong Zhou (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0000-8507-3628)
- Miaomiao Kang (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3176-8429)
- Shuang Guo
- Xiaoping Zhong
Institutions
- Kunming Medical University (CN)
- Shantou University (CN)
- Third Affiliated Hospital of Southern Medical University (CN)
- First People's Hospital of Foshan (CN)
- Guangzhou First People's Hospital (CN)
- Second Affiliated Hospital of Shantou University Medical College (CN)
- Ningxia Medical University (CN)
- Shenzhen Technology University (CN)
- Southern Medical University (CN)
- Guangzhou Medical University (CN)
Publication Details
- Journal
- Small
- Published
- 2026-08-27
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.1002/smll.75314
- Primary Topic
- Wound Healing and Treatments
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 0.00
Funders
- National Natural Science Foundation of China
- National Science and Technology Major Project
- National Key Research and Development Program of China