Microparticles Decorated with Cell-Instructive Surface Chemistries Actively Promote Wound Healing.

Wound healing is a complex biological process involving close crosstalk between various cell types. Dysregulation in any of these processes, such as in diabetic wounds, results in chronic non-healing wounds. Fibroblasts are a critical cell type involved in the formation of granulation tissue, essential for effective wound healing. We screened 315 different polymer surfaces to identify candidates which actively drove fibroblasts towards either pro- or anti-proliferative functional phenotypes. Fibroblast-instructive chemistries were identified, which we synthesized into surfactants to fabricate easy to administer microparticles for direct application to diabetic wounds. The pro-proliferative microfluidic derived particles were able to successfully promote neovascularisation, granulation tissue formation and wound closure after a single application to the wound bed. These active novel 3D bio-instructive microparticles show great potential as a route to reducing the burden of chronic wounds. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.