Reshaping the Endogenous Electric Field to Boost Wound Repair via Electrogenerative Dressing.

The endogenous electric field (EF) generated by transepithelial potential difference plays a decisive role in wound re-epithelialization. For patients with large or chronic wounds, negative pressure wound therapy (NPWT) is the most effective clinical method in inflammation control by continuously removing the necrotic tissues or infected substances, thus creating a pro-proliferative microenvironment beneficial for wound re-epithelialization. However, continuous negative pressure drainage causes electrolyte loss and weakens the endogenous EF, which in turn hinders wound re-epithelialization. Here, we developed an electrogenerative dressing (EGD) by integrating triboelectric nanogenerators with NPWT. By converting the negative pressure-induced mechanical deformation into electricity, EGD produced a stable and high-safety EF that could trigger a robust epithelial electrotactic response and drive the macrophages toward a reparative M2 phenotype in vitro. Translational medicine studies confirmed that EGD completely reshaped the wound EF weakened by NPWT, and promoted wound closure by facilitating an earlier transition of inflammation/proliferation and guiding epithelial migration and proliferation to accelerate re-epithelialization. Long-term EGD therapy remarkably advanced tissue remodeling with mature epithelium, orderly extracellular matrix and less scar formation. Compared with the golden standard of NPWT, EGD orchestrated all the essential wound stages in a non-invasive manner, presenting an excellent prospect in clinical wound therapy. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.