New oxygen gel could help prevent amputations — Scientists

Scientists at the University of California, Riverside, have developed a battery-powered gel that delivers oxygen directly into chronic wounds, helping them heal before they lead to limb loss.

In animal studies, injuries that would normally remain open and often prove fatal were closed within weeks, offering hope for reducing the number of amputations linked to slow-healing wounds.

A wound that does not heal within a month is considered chronic. These injuries are becoming increasingly common and carry a high risk of infection, tissue damage, and amputation. Researchers say low oxygen levels deep within damaged tissue are a key reason many wounds fail to heal.

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“Most bandages absorb fluid or release antimicrobial agents, but they don’t address hypoxia, which is the underlying problem,” said Prince David Okoro, a bioengineering doctoral candidate and co-author of the study. “We’re targeting that directly.”

The team described the oxygen-delivering gel in Nature Communications Materials. The soft, flexible material is made from water and a choline-based liquid that is antibacterial, non-toxic, and biocompatible. When connected to a small battery similar to those used in hearing aids, the gel acts as a tiny electrochemical device, splitting water molecules to release a steady supply of oxygen.

Unlike treatments that provide oxygen only at the surface, the gel conforms to the exact shape of a wound, filling tiny gaps where oxygen is lowest, and infection risk is highest.

It can continuously supply oxygen for up to a month, long enough for new blood vessels to form and normal healing to resume.

To test the technology, researchers used diabetic and older mice, whose wounds resemble chronic wounds in older adults.

Untreated injuries failed to heal and were often fatal. With the oxygen-producing gel, replaced weekly, wounds healed in about 23 days, and the animals survived.

The gel may offer additional benefits. Choline, one of its main components, helps regulate immune activity and reduce excessive inflammation.

Chronic wounds often contain high levels of reactive oxygen species, unstable molecules that damage tissue, and the gel appears to help restore a healthier healing environment.

Beyond wound care, the researchers say the technology could support efforts to grow replacement tissues and organs, where delivering sufficient oxygen and nutrients remains a major challenge.