Oxygen-Delivering Gel Shows Promise for Healing Chronic Wounds

As aging populations and rising diabetes rates contribute to an increase in chronic wounds, researchers at UC Riverside have developed an innovative oxygen-delivering gel with the potential to heal injuries that might otherwise lead to amputation. This breakthrough offers hope for the millions affected by wounds that resist conventional treatment.

The Challenge of Chronic Wounds

Injuries that fail to heal for more than a month are classified as chronic wounds, impacting an estimated 12 million people globally and 4.5 million in the United States annually . Alarmingly, approximately one in five patients with chronic wounds ultimately require amputation.

How the Gel Works

The new gel targets a fundamental issue in chronic wound healing: hypoxia, or a lack of oxygen in the damaged tissue. Without sufficient oxygen, wounds remain stuck in a prolonged inflammatory state, creating an environment where bacteria thrive and tissue breakdown outweighs regeneration.

“Chronic wounds don’t heal by themselves,” explained Iman Noshadi, UCR associate professor of bioengineering and leader of the research team . “Lack of a stable, consistent oxygen supply is a substantial problem in the stages of healing chronic wounds.”

The gel, detailed in a paper published in Nature Communications Materials , is a soft, flexible material containing water and a choline-based liquid that is antibacterial, nontoxic, and biocompatible. When combined with a small battery—similar to those found in hearing aids—the gel functions as an electrochemical machine, splitting water molecules to generate a continuous stream of oxygen.

Unique Advantages of the New Approach

Unlike existing treatments that only deliver oxygen to the wound surface, this gel conforms to the wound’s shape, reaching crevices where oxygen levels are typically lowest and infection risk is highest. The gel’s continuous oxygen delivery—sustained for up to a month—is crucial, as vascularization (the formation of new blood vessels) can take weeks.

In tests conducted on diabetic and older mice—models chosen for their similarity to chronic wounds in humans—untreated injuries failed to heal. However, wounds treated with the oxygen-generating gel, replaced weekly, closed within approximately 23 days, and the animals survived .

Beyond Oxygen: The Role of Choline

The gel’s composition offers additional benefits. Choline, a key ingredient, helps modulate the immune system and reduce excessive inflammation. Chronic wounds often experience an overabundance of reactive oxygen species, which damage cells and prolong inflammation. By increasing stable oxygen levels while calming the immune response, the gel aims to restore balance.

Looking Ahead

Researchers envision this technology as a potential product requiring periodic gel renewal. The underlying principles extend beyond wound care. Oxygen and nutrient deprivation pose significant challenges in growing replacement tissues and organs, an area of ongoing research in Noshadi’s laboratory .

“When the thickness of a tissue increases, it’s hard to diffuse that tissue with what it needs, so cells start dying,” Noshadi said . “This project can be seen as a bridge to creating and sustaining larger organs for people in need of them.”

While the gel addresses a critical aspect of chronic wound healing, researchers acknowledge that broader factors—such as increasing rates of diabetes, aging populations, and sedentary lifestyles—contribute to the problem . However, this innovation represents a significant step toward reducing amputations, improving quality of life, and enabling the body’s natural healing processes.