Zeolitic imidazolate framework-67 accelerates infected diabetic chronic wound healing

Abstract Chronic wounds in diabetes are often considered as a latent threat to human health, and they can cause persistent pain and even lead to amputation or death. Bacterial infections and insufficient angiogenesis are two important factors resulting in chronic wounds that cannot heal naturally. Currently, most multifunctional biomaterials are manufactured from several types of active components because single ingredients can hardly provide comprehensive and effective therapy for chronic wounds. Herein, a series of zeolitic imidazolate framework-67 (ZIF-67) with different morphologies and sizes was prepared. These nanostructures exhibited remarkable antibacterial activity against Saccharomyces cerevisiae, which was better for the cube-type than for the dodecahedron-type morphology. Simultaneously, these single-component ZIF-67 promoted the proliferation, migration, and tube formation of human umbilical vein endothelial cells in vitro. Furthermore, in vivo evaluation of a C57BL/6 type I diabetic mouse model showed that bioactive ZIF-67 (particularly ZIF-67 nanocubes) accelerated wound healing by promoting angiogenesis, enhancing collagen deposition, and polarizing macrophages. Our results unambiguously demonstrate that such single-component but multifunctional ZIF-67 nanostructures have great potential for integrating other complementary active ingredients for biomedical applications.