LAUSR

Chronic wound is difficult to repair because the normal wound healing mechanism is inhibited by the continuous inflammatory response. The delayed inflammatory responses generate high level of reactive oxygen species (ROS) at the wound sites, which leads to a longer inflammatory phase and induces a vicious cycle that interferes with the normal wound healing process. Therefore, ROS scavenging is an important factor for chronic wound healing. In this study, antioxidant hydrogel was developed by cross-linking kraft lignin, an antioxidant agent, and gelatin (Klig-Gel). Klig-Gel hydrogel was fabricated via ring opening reaction with epichlorohydrin as a cross-linker. High ROS scavenging activities were confirmed by various antioxidant evaluations, and in vitro natural antioxidant expression tests showed reduction of oxidative stress. Mechanical properties of Klig-Gel hydrogel were tailorable by introducing different amount of kraft lignin to the hydrogel system. Biocompatibility was confirmed regardless of the kraft lignin content. Klig-Gel hydrogel is a promising ROS scavenging material that can be applied in various chronic wound healing applications. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.