Peptide-Based Double-Network Hydrogels for Melanoma Treatment and Wound Healing Promotion

Although surgery is the primary method to treat malignantmelanoma,it has drawbacks such as residual tumor that could trigger cancerrecurrence and wound infections that are especially difficult to healin diabetics. In this research, we have constructed anti-cancer peptides/polyvinylalcohol (PVA) double-network (DN) hydrogels for the treatment of melanoma.The maximum stress of the DN hydrogels is found to be larger than2 MPa, which endows the DN hydrogels with ideal mechanical performancefor therapeutic wound dressing. The peptides naphthalene-FIIIKKK (IK1)and phloretic acid-FIIIKKK (IK3) that were previously developed aseffective antibacterial peptides, as well as the peptide/PVA DN hydrogels,are found to have good anti-cancer efficacy and target mouse melanomacells B16-F10 while being nontoxic to normal cells. Further studieshave revealed that IK1 and IK3 damage the tumor cell membrane andmitochondrial membrane and eventually trigger apoptosis. In the mousemelanoma model and the diabetic bacterial infection model, the DNhydrogels exhibit great anti-tumor, anti-bacterial, and wound healingpromotion abilities in vivo. Because of their excellentmechanical properties, the DN hydrogels are promising soft materialsfor directly treating malignant melanomas as well as for preventingrecurrence and bacterial infection after melanoma surgery that promotewound healing.