Janus Nanofibrous Patch with In Situ Grown Superlubricated Skin for Soft Tissue Repair with Inhibited Postoperative Adhesion

Abstract

The patch with a superlubricated surface shows great potential for the prevention of postoperative adhesion during soft tissue repair. However, the existing patches suffer from the destruction of topography during superlubrication coating and lack of pro-healing capability. Herein, we demonstrate a facile and versatile strategy to develop a Janus nanofibrous patch ( J -NFP) with antiadhesion and reactive oxygen species (ROS) scavenging functions. Specifically, sequential electrospinning is performed with initiators and CeO 2 nanoparticles (CeNPs) embedded on the different sides, followed by subsurface-initiated atom transfer radical polymerization for grafting zwitterionic polymer brushes, introducing superlubricated skin on the surface of single nanofibers. The poly(sulfobetaine methacrylate) brush-grafted patch retains fibrous topography and shows a coefficient of friction of around 0.12, which is reduced by 77% compared with the pristine fibrous patch. Additionally, a significant reduction in protein, platelet, bacteria, and cell adhesion is observed. More importantly, the CeNPs-embedded patch enables ROS scavenging as well as inhibits pro-inflammatory cytokine secretion and promotes anti-inflammatory cytokine levels. Furthermore, the J -NFP can inhibit tissue adhesion and promote repair of both rat skin wounds and intrauterine injuries. The present strategy for developing the Janus patch exhibits enormous prospects for facilitating soft tissue repair.