GHK-Cu · research summary

Microenvironment-responsive injectable dynamic hydrogel for sequential antioxidant and tissue regeneration therapy of radiation-induced skin injury.

Bioactive materials · 2026. Summary drawn from the study's full text. Each statement is followed by the exact sentence it comes from. This is a research summary, not medical advice.

Study type

Preclinical study involving in vitro cell assays and in vivo animal models
“In vitro and in vivo evaluations have confirmed that the HCG@CDs hydrogel effectively alleviates radiation-induced oxidative damage and inflammatory responses, significantly accelerating the healing of skin wounds.”

Subjects

Female BALB/c mice and human cell lines (HUVECs, RAW264.7 macrophages, L929 fibroblasts)
“Primary human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVECs), RAW264.7 macrophages, and L929 fibroblast cell lines were provided by the State Key Laboratory of Biotherapy, Sichuan University.”

Sample size

12 mice per group for the RISI model and 3 mice per group for biocompatibility
“Healthy female BALB/c mice were randomly assigned to five treatment groups(n=12): (i) PBS control, (ii) HA, (iii) HA@CDs, (iv) HCG, and (v) HCG@CDs.”

Duration

28 days for the RISI wound healing observation period
“Representative animals from each group were euthanized via cervical dislocation under deep anesthesia at post-irradiation days 7, 14, 21, and 28 for tissue collection(n=3).”

Reported findings

The HCG@CDs hydrogel exhibited pH-responsive release, rapidly releasing carbon dots in acidic environments to scavenge ROS and sustainably releasing GHK-Cu2+ to promote repair.
“These results confirm the designed sequential release behavior, in which physically encapsulated CDs undergo rapid initial diffusion, followed by the sustained release of chemically conjugated GHK-Cu2+.”
In vivo, the HCG@CDs group showed nearly complete wound recovery by day 28 with reduced inflammatory cells and increased collagen deposition compared to control groups.
“As shown in Fig. 6C, the feet of mice treated with the HCG@CDs exhibited nearly complete recovery by day 28.”
The hydrogel demonstrated strong antibacterial activity against MRSA and E. coli, with efficacy approaching 100% for the HCG@CDs group.
“The relative antibacterial efficacy exceeded 80% for all groups and approached nearly 100% for the HCG@CDs, as illustrated in Figs. 3C and 3D.”

Source: PubMed 42058630 · DOI 10.1016/j.bioactmat.2026.03.057 · all study summaries

Reported findings

The HCG@CDs hydrogel exhibited pH-responsive release, rapidly releasing carbon dots in acidic environments to scavenge ROS and sustainably releasing GHK-Cu2+ to promote repair.

“These results confirm the designed sequential release behavior, in which physically encapsulated CDs undergo rapid initial diffusion, followed by the sustained release of chemically conjugated GHK-Cu2+.”

In vivo, the HCG@CDs group showed nearly complete wound recovery by day 28 with reduced inflammatory cells and increased collagen deposition compared to control groups.

“As shown in Fig. 6C, the feet of mice treated with the HCG@CDs exhibited nearly complete recovery by day 28.”

The hydrogel demonstrated strong antibacterial activity against MRSA and E. coli, with efficacy approaching 100% for the HCG@CDs group.

“The relative antibacterial efficacy exceeded 80% for all groups and approached nearly 100% for the HCG@CDs, as illustrated in Figs. 3C and 3D.”