Multifunctional wound dressing for highly efficient treatment of chronic diabetic wounds

Abstract As the number of diabetics increases yearly and diabetic ulcer is the most concerned diabetic complication, it is of great urgency to develop a novel multifunctional material with high efficiency to promote diabetic wound healing. In this paper, ceria (CeO2)‐modified upconversion nanoparticles which loaded in polycaprolactone membranes were successfully prepared as a ceria‐based wound dressing for chronic wound healing. In this system, near‐infrared (NIR) light is used as a switch to control the photodynamic antibacterial therapy by converting the NIR photons into ultraviolet light, which can further trigger CeO2 to produce reactive oxygen species. In addition, the well‐known antioxidant ability of CeO2 endows the wound dressing with prominent capability to resist the oxidative stress around chronic wounds. In summary, both photodynamic antibacterial therapy and good antioxidant property are realized simultaneously in this CeO2‐based system to promote the healing of diabetic chronic wounds.