| Topical administration of drugs in a timely controlled manner according to the physiological needs can enhance the healing process in chronic wounds. Here a pH-mediated electronic wound patch is presented. This smart patch is capable of pH-based active drug release where the pH of the patch was itself controlled electronically. The wound patch is comprised of electrodes coated with a PEGDA/Laponite hydrogel layer containing chitosan nanoparticles (CHPs) as drug carriers. The engineered patch is pH responsive and enables the on-demand release of drug by electronically adjusting the pH. Applying electrical voltage between working and reference electrodes triggers charged ions and a consequent pH change. In basic pH, the CHPs were stimulated and drugs were released while in acidic pH the release profile was negligible. The pH shifting implemented by electrical voltage would not affect the pH of the wound site and its biocompatibility was confirmed in this study. This platform can provide precise control over administration of drug in order to improve the therapeutic effectiveness while reduce the side effects of the drugs. |
