A CS-based composite scaffold with excellent photothermal effect and its application in full-thickness skin wound healing

The development of natural polymer-based scaffolds with excellent biocompatibility, antibacterial activity, and blood compatibility, able to facilitate full-thickness skin wound healing, remains challenging. In this study, we have developed three chitosan (CS)-based porous scaffolds, including CS, CS/CNT (carbon nanotubes) and CS/CNT/HA (nano-hydroxyapatite, n-HA) using a freeze-drying method. All three scaffolds have a high swelling ratio, excellent antibacterial activity, outstanding cytocompatibility and blood compatibility in vitro. The introduction of CNTs exhibited an obvious increase in mechanical properties and exerts excellent photothermal response, which displays excellent healing performance as a wound dressing in mouse full-thickness skin wound model when compared to CS scaffolds. CS/CNT/HA composite scaffolds present the strongest ability to promote full-thickness cutaneous wound closure and skin regeneration, which might be ascribed to the synergistic effect of photothermal response from CNT and excellent bioactivity from n-HA. Overall, the present study indicated that CNT and n-HA can be engineered as effective constituents in wound dressings to facilitate full-thickness skin regeneration.