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. 2023 Aug 8;24(16):12539.
doi: 10.3390/ijms241612539.

The Wound-Healing Activity of PEDOT-PSS in Animals

Yun-Lung Chung  1 , Pei-Yu Chou  2 , Ming-Jyh Sheu  1
Affiliations

The Wound-Healing Activity of PEDOT-PSS in Animals

Yun-Lung Chung et al. Int J Mol Sci. .

Abstract

This study evaluated the wound-healing activity of a polymer, Poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene):poly-(styrene sulfonate) (PEDOT: PSS), and determined its mechanism based on angiogenic activity in a full-thickness excision wound model in Spraque Dawley (SD) rats. Administering PEDOT: PSS (1.6) 1.5 ppm at a dose of 50 mg/kg/day significantly improved wound healing in the SD rats on the eleventh day after the incision was created. PEDOT: PSS-treated animals presented no anti-inflammatory skin effects; however, there was an increase in angiogenic behavior. VEGF was found to be significantly elevated in the PEDOT: PSS-treated groups seven days post-incision. However, only a higher concentration of PEDOT: PSS increased TGF-β1 expression within the same time frame. Our results showed that PEDOT: PSS enhances wound healing activity, mainly in terms of its angiogenic effects. In this paper, we describe the highly conductive macromolecular material PEDOT: PSS, which demonstrated accelerated wound-healing activity in the animal incision model. The results will further provide information regarding the application of PEDOT: PSS as a dressing for medical use.

Keywords: TGF-β1; VEGF; angiogenesis; wound-healing.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflict of interests.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Cytotoxic effects of PEDOT: PSS on the human macrophage (RAW 264.7 (A) PEDOT-PSS (1.6) showed non-toxic effects in human macrophages (RAW 364.7). The cells were treated with different concentrations of PEDOT-PSS (1.6) (2.9, 5.9, 11.7, 23.4, 46.9, 93.8, 187.5, 375, 750, and 1500 ppm) for 24 h. These cells did not show apparent cell cytotoxicity. (B) PEDOT-PSS (2.5) and (C) PEDOT-PSS (5.0) at higher concentrations showed marked cell cytotoxicity. * p < 0.05, compared to the control group (treated with 10% FBS alone), according to a one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA).
Figure 2
Figure 2
Effect of PEDOT: PSS (1.6) on the wound healing process in SD rats. SD rats (n = 5) were administered with PEDOT: PSS (1.6) 1.5 ppm. It was administered to the control group with Vaseline ointment (100 mg per application/kg/day) and the PEDOT-PSS (1.6) experimental group at concentrations of 1.5 ppm for treatment (50 mg per application/day). Wound areas of the animals significantly reduced at day 11 and day 14 after the full-thickness excision compared to the control group (Day 0) (Table 1). Wound photographs were taken on days 3, 7, 11, and 14 after the incision. p < 0.05, compared to the control group.
Figure 3
Figure 3
Immunohistochemistry staining of PEDOT: PSS (1.6) on wound healing in the full-thickness-excision wound model in normal rats on day seven (VEGF stain). Skin wounds displayed slight to moderate/severe angiogenesis (arrow) in G1: Control (A–C. Animal code: 1-2), G2 (D–F. Animal code: 2-5), G3 (G–I. Animal code: 3-2), and G4 (J–L. Animal code: 4-2). The VEGF staining frequency scores were 2.3 ± 0.4; 3.5 ± 0.5; 2.6 ± 1.5; and 4.2 ± 0.7 in G1, G2, G3, and G4, respectively. Magnification: 40×, 100×, and 400×.
Figure 4
Figure 4
Immunohistochemistry staining of PEDOT: PSS (1.6) on wound healing in the full-thickness-excision wound model in normal rats on day 7 (TGF-β1 stain). Skin wounds showed an absence of TGF-β1 expression in the angiogenesis of blood vessels in G1: Control (A–C. Animal code: 1-3); however, minimal TGF-β1 expression in the angiogenesis of blood vessels (arrow) was noted in G2 (D–F. Animal code: 2-3) and G3 (G–I. Animal code: 3-2), and slight expression was noted in G4 (J–L. Animal code: 4-5). The TGF-β staining frequency scores were 0.0 ± 0.0; 0.3 ± 0.5; 0.2 ± 0.4; and 0.8 ± 0.7 in G1, G2, G3, and G4, respectively. Magnification: 40×, 100×, and 400×.
Figure 5
Figure 5
(A) PEDOT-PSS (1.6) 1.5 ppm markedly produced wound healing/closure in vitro. The experimental results showed significant wound healing after 24 h after wound healing in the macrophages (macrophage; RAW264.7) cells. The original magnification: 10×. And, the scale bar = 200 μM. (B) * p < 0.05 compared with the control group (according to one-way ANOVA).
Figure 6
Figure 6
Different particle sizes between PEDOT: PSS (1.6), PEDOT: PSS (2.5), and PEDOT: PSS (5.0).
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