A bioactive sea buckthorn flavonoid-based nanocomposite dressing with on-demand release for managing diabetic wounds

In the field of diabetic wound dressings, currently available microwave-responsive materials often suffer from limitations such as slow response and simplistic release profiles, which hinder precise control and effective treatment. This study introduces a innovatively designed PSTZ nanocomposite, comprising polyvinyl alcohol (PVA), sodium alginate (SA), total flavonoids of Hippophae rhamnoides L. (TFH), and zeolitic imidazolate framework (ZIF)-67, as a novel intelligent wound dressing capable of rapid microwave activation. The system efficiently encapsulates total flavonoids within a ZIF-67 metal-organic framework to form TFH-ZIF67 nanoparticles, which are incorporated into a PVA/SA hydrogel matrix via electrospinning. Upon microwave stimulation, the ZIF-67 component enables instantaneous thermal response and accelerated drug release, achieving a temperature rise of 50 °C in just 15 s and enhancing drug release rate by 32.7% compared to room temperature conditions. Beyond conventional dressings, PSTZ demonstrates unique capability to intelligently regulate key molecular pathways involved in wound healing, offering a transformative strategy for treating diabetic wounds.