As the global population ages and diabetes rates continue to soar, the prevalence of chronic wounds—long-lasting injuries that resist healing—has escalated to alarming levels, placing millions of patients at heightened risk of complex complications, including limb amputation. In response to this growing health crisis, researchers at the University of California, Riverside have pioneered a groundbreaking oxygen-delivering hydrogel designed to transform the management and recovery of chronic wounds, potentially reducing the devastating consequences linked to such injuries.
Chronic wounds are defined clinically as injuries that fail to progress through the normal phases of healing within a month’s time, leading to prolonged inflammation and tissue degradation. Affecting roughly 12 million people globally each year—and nearly 4.5 million in the United States alone—these wounds impose enormous burdens on healthcare systems and severely impact patients’ quality of life. Approximately 20% of individuals suffering from chronic wounds ultimately face amputation, underscoring the urgent need for therapeutic innovations that target the underlying biological obstacles to healing.
Central to the pathology of chronic wounds is hypoxia, a state of insufficient oxygen within the deepest layers of tissue affected by injury. When oxygen supply from the bloodstream and ambient air fails to reach these regions, healing stalls. Hypoxia extends the inflammatory phase, promotes bacterial colonization, and impairs regeneration, creating an environment where wounds become stagnant or worsen. Addressing the hypoxic microenvironment has remained an elusive challenge for clinicians and bioengineers alike.
The novel hydrogel developed by the UC Riverside team, led by Associate Professor of Bioengineering Iman Noshadi, offers a strategic solution by delivering oxygen directly within the wound matrix. Unlike conventional treatments that apply oxygen superficially or intermittently, this self-oxygenating gel integrates a choline-based liquid that is inherently antibacterial, biocompatible, and nontoxic, embedded within a water-rich soft polymer network. This innovative matrix conforms intimately to the unique 3D architecture of wounds, filling crevices and delivering oxygen precisely where it is most critically needed.
A remarkable feature of the hydrogel is its electrochemical oxygen generation capability. Activated by a miniature battery akin to those found in hearing aids, the gel functions as a microscale electrochemical system that catalyzes water-splitting reactions. This process gradually releases oxygen over extended periods, unlike traditional approaches providing only temporary relief. The sustained oxygenation, lasting up to a month under experimental conditions, supports continuous progression through the healing stages—especially vascularization, where formation of new blood vessels is vital.
Preclinical testing in diabetic and elderly murine models—carefully selected for their close physiological resemblance to human chronic wound pathology—has demonstrated the gel’s profound therapeutic impact. Untreated wounds in these models typically fail to close and are associated with high mortality rates. However, wounds treated weekly with the oxygen-generating hydrogel closed within approximately 23 days, representing a significant survival benefit. This sets a promising precedent for translation into human clinical applications.
Beyond oxygen delivery, the gel’s incorporation of choline imparts additional immunomodulatory benefits. Chronic wounds often experience elevated production of reactive oxygen species (ROS), chemically unstable molecules that exacerbate cellular damage and prolong inflammation. By providing stable oxygen while simultaneously tempering the immune system’s overactive responses, the hydrogel restores molecular balance within the wound microenvironment, mitigating oxidative stress and fostering conditions conducive to tissue regeneration.
Current wound care products—such as absorbent dressings or antimicrobial agents—primarily target symptom management, fluid control, or infection prevention but inadequately address the fundamental issue of hypoxia. The UC Riverside gel distinguishes itself by confronting the root cause with a bioelectrochemical strategy that integrates material science and cellular biology. This represents a paradigm shift in how chronic wounds can be therapeutically managed to restore natural healing trajectories rather than merely controlling complications.
The implications of this technology extend far beyond wound care alone. Oxygen and nutrient transport are critical hurdles in the broader field of tissue engineering and regenerative medicine, particularly in efforts to cultivate functional replacement tissues or organs. As engineered tissues increase in thickness, diffusion limits impose strict constraints on cellular viability. The oxygen-generating gel’s capacity to provide stable and localized oxygenation offers an innovative platform that could be adapted to sustain complex 3D tissue constructs, potentially bridging a gap toward clinically viable organ manufacturing.
Despite the gel’s promise, systemic societal challenges such as rising diabetes prevalence, aging demographics, and sedentary lifestyles continue to underscore the multifactorial nature of chronic wounds. As Baishali Kanjilal, a bioengineer involved in the project, explains, these trends compound immune dysfunction and complicate healing from a physiological standpoint. Nevertheless, this novel biomaterial innovation provides hope by furnishing the body with a critical missing element in the healing equation, potentially reducing amputations and improving long-term outcomes.
Looking ahead, the research team envisions evolving the technology into a deployable product, where the oxygen-generating gel could be periodically replenished to maintain therapeutic oxygen levels over extended periods. This ongoing delivery system could revolutionize how chronic wounds are treated in clinical practice, shifting from episodic interventions to continuous, tailored management. Given its biocompatibility, ease of application, and mechanistic advantages, this hydrogel stands at the forefront of next-generation biomaterials for wound repair.
In an era where bioengineering is increasingly integral to medical innovation, the UC Riverside oxygen-delivering hydrogel embodies the intersection of sophisticated electrochemistry, immunology, and material science, poised to address a pressing unmet clinical need. By directly resolving hypoxia and modulating inflammation, it offers a scientifically sound and translationally applicable solution to a pervasive health challenge, heralding a new chapter in regenerative therapies.
Subject of Research: Self-oxygenating hydrogel for chronic wound healing
Article Title: Electrochemical Hydrogel Patch for Sustained Oxygen Delivery in Chronic Wounds
News Publication Date: January 5, 2026
Web References: https://www.nature.com/articles/s43246-025-00947-4, http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/s43246-025-00947-4
Image Credits: Iman Noshadi/UCR
Keywords
Wound healing, Tissue repair, Diabetes, Autoimmune disorders, Type 1 diabetes, Type 2 diabetes, Diseases and disorders, Health and medicine, Bioengineering, Biomedical engineering, Biomaterials, Regenerative medicine, Tissue engineering, Aging populations
Tags: advanced wound care solutionsbiomedical engineering in wound therapychronic wound healing innovationsdiabetic wound treatmentglobal impact of chronic woundshydrogel for tissue regenerationhypoxia in chronic woundsmanaging prolonged inflammation in woundsoxygen-delivering hydrogel technologyreducing limb amputation riskstherapeutic approaches for non-healing woundsUniversity of California Riverside research
