2P-279: Riboflavin-sensitized photo-crosslinked hyaluronic acid hydrogel as a wound healing agent

In this study, hydrogel derived from tyramine conjugated hyaluronic acid (HA-Ty) was mechanically enhanced using a tyrosine rich peptide, YYACAYY, and was tested for its potential in wound healing with the incorporation of the wound healing tripeptide, GHK-Cu. Riboflavin-sensitized photo-crosslinking was utilized as a strategy for the formation of hydrogels. Riboflavin induces covalent linkages between phenol moieties under UV irradiation, which allows the HA-Ty to crosslink and form hydrogels. YYACAYY peptide enhanced the storage modulus of the HA-Ty hydrogel because the tyrosine residues could be crosslinked to the phenol moieties of the HA-Ty. The recovering effects of hydrogels in keratinocytes and skin fibroblasts proves the possibility of the HA-Ty/GHK-Cu hybrid hydrogel to be a plausible depot for wound injuries.