Wound healing involves multiple stages of body responses, including hemostasis, inflammation, cell proliferation, and tissue remodeling. New material design satisfying all demands throughout different stages of wound healing is cherished but rarely discussed. Here we introduce all-aqueous multiphase microfluidics as a novel strategy to fabricate self-assembled, multifunctional alkylated chitosan/alginate microcapsules (SAAMs) as novel therapeutic materials for rapid blood coagulation and wound healing. SAAMs are structurally distinguished by their ultrathin shells with polycationic surface for rapid activation of clotting cascade and their internal porous dextran-rich cores for fast absorption of blood and exudate. These features endow SAAMs with excellent hemostatic properties for acute hemorrhage. Moreover, the alkylated chitosan within the microcapsules exhibits persistent antimicrobial activities against bactericidal infections due to their amphiphilic and cationic surfaces. Besides, cytokines can be safely loaded into the organic-solvent-free microcapsules and released precisely to promote the proliferation of epidermal cells, supporting the subsequent development of granulation tissue and suppression of inflammation in the last stages of wound healing. With the ability to fabricate size-tailored soft microcapsules and to realize time-sequential functions for tissue repairing, the presented "all-aqueous microfluidics generation of multifunctional bioactive SAAMs" create a versatile and robust paradigm for wound treatment.
Keywords: alkylated chitosan; all-aqueous microfluidics; aqueous-two phase system; microcapsules; wound healing.