Researchers at the University of California, Riverside have developed a new gel designed to help heal chronic wounds, which are injuries that do not heal within a month. Chronic wounds affect approximately 12 million people worldwide each year, including about 4.5 million in the United States. Around 20 percent of these patients eventually face amputation.
The team led by Iman Noshadi, associate professor of bioengineering at UC Riverside, created a gel that delivers oxygen directly into damaged tissue. “Chronic wounds don’t heal by themselves,” said Noshadi. “There are four stages to healing chronic wounds: inflammation, vascularization where tissue starts making blood vessels, remodeling, and regeneration or healing. In any of these stages, lack of a stable, consistent oxygen supply is a big problem,” he said.
The gel contains water and a choline-based liquid that is antibacterial and biocompatible. When used with a small battery similar to those found in hearing aids, it splits water molecules to generate oxygen continuously over time. Unlike some existing treatments that only provide oxygen at the wound’s surface, this gel molds to the shape of each wound and fills crevices where oxygen is most needed.
Continuous delivery of oxygen is important because the formation of new blood vessels can take weeks. The researchers report that their system can maintain adequate oxygen levels for up to one month.
In tests on diabetic and older mice—chosen because their wound healing process resembles that in older humans—the untreated injuries often did not heal and were sometimes fatal. With the use of the oxygen-generating patch replaced weekly, wounds closed in about 23 days and survival rates improved.
“We could make this patch as a product where the gel may need to be renewed periodically,” said Prince David Okoro, a doctoral candidate in Noshadi’s lab and co-author on the study.
Beyond delivering oxygen, choline in the gel also helps modulate immune response and reduce excessive inflammation caused by reactive oxygen species—unstable molecules that can damage cells during prolonged inflammation. Okoro noted: “There are bandages that absorb fluid, and some that release antimicrobial agents. But none of them really address hypoxia, which is the fundamental problem. We’re tackling that directly.”
Noshadi sees further applications for this technology beyond wound care: “When the thickness of a tissue increases, it’s hard to diffuse that tissue with what it needs so cells start dying,” he said. “This project can be seen as a bridge to creating and sustaining larger organs for people in need of them.”
Baishali Kanjilal, another co-author from UC Riverside’s bioengineering department, pointed out additional factors contributing to chronic wounds beyond diabetes and aging populations: sedentary lifestyles have weakened immune responses in many people. “It’s hard to get to societal roots of our problems. But this innovation represents a chance to reduce amputations, improve quality of life, and give the body what it needs to heal itself,” she said.
