Angstrom-scale silver particle-embedded carbomer gel promotes wound healing by inhibiting bacterial colonization and inflammation

Poor wound healing after diabetes or extensive burn remains a challenging problem. Recently, we presented a physical approach to fabricate ultrasmall silver particles from angstrom ngstrom scale to nanoscale and determined the antitumor efficacy of angstrom ngstrom-scale silver particles (Ag angstrom Ps) in the smallest size range. Here we used the medium-sized Ag angstrom Ps (65.9 +/- 31.6 angstrom) to prepare carbomer gel incorporated with these larger Ag angstrom Ps (L-Ag angstrom Ps-gel) and demonstrated the potent broad-spectrum antibacterial activity of L-Ag angstrom Ps-gel without obvious toxicity on wound healing-related cells. Induction of reactive oxygen species contributed to L-Ag angstrom Ps-gel-induced bacterial death. Topical application of L-Ag angstrom Ps-gel to mouse skin triggered much stronger effects than the commercial silver nanoparticles (AgNPs)-gel to prevent bacterial colonization, reduce inflammation, and accelerate diabetic and burn wound healing. L-Ag angstrom Ps were distributed locally in skin without inducing systemic toxicities. This study suggests that L-Ag angstrom Ps-gel represents an effective and safe antibacterial and anti-inflammatory material for wound therapy.