Sustained-release photothermal microneedles for postoperative incisional analgesia and wound healing via hydrogen therapy
Zhang A, Jiang X, Xiong B, Chen J, Liu X, Wang S, Li B, Peng M, Li W. · Advanced Science. 2025;12(35):e03698.
Study at a glance
Preclinical
Male Sprague–Dawley rats with plantar incisions, plus HUVEC and NIH-3T3 cell models.
A dissolving microneedle patch delivered ammonia-borane-loaded PDA@ZIF-8 nanoparticles for local sustained H₂ release, with some groups also receiving QX-314 microspheres and near-infrared activation. · Ten mg particles released H₂ in a 4-mL probe solution for up to 120 hours in vitro, plateauing by 120–168 hours; the article did not provide a clinically interpretable local H₂ concentration or mL/min flux in tissue.
Single post-incision patch with pain follow-up to seven days, weight to 15 days and wound/histology assessment on days 5–7.
H₂-releasing patch groups showed longer pain-threshold and wound-healing improvements than surgery/non-H₂ controls; the combined H₂/QX-314/NIR system performed best, so its effect cannot be assigned to H₂ alone. Body weight and tested liver/kidney/histology safety measures did not differ adversely; multiple cell/assay comparisons were non-significant.
Complex experimental patch, many treatment arms/endpoints, small histology samples, male rats only, H₂ exposure not quantified in tissue, and strong confounding by QX-314/NIR in the best-performing arm. Chinese public/institutional grants funded the work; authors declared no conflicts.
What kind of evidence is this?
Preclinical
Multi-component biomaterial study with cell assays and randomized ten-group rat plantar-incision experiments
Skin, wound and aging research
Other forms
Information not yet classified
Some editorial classification fields are still pending. The source-reported outcomes and result are shown below; Hydrogenology does not infer a positive or negative signal from prose automatically.
Methods
Male Sprague–Dawley rats with plantar incisions, plus HUVEC and NIH-3T3 cell models.
Ten rat groups of n=8 for pain testing; selected wound histology used n=3 and body-weight reporting used n=16. Cell assays commonly used three independent experiments.
Single post-incision patch with pain follow-up to seven days, weight to 15 days and wound/histology assessment on days 5–7.
A dissolving microneedle patch delivered ammonia-borane-loaded PDA@ZIF-8 nanoparticles for local sustained H₂ release, with some groups also receiving QX-314 microspheres and near-infrared activation.
H₂ generated locally from ammonia borane in an acid-responsive microneedle material — not Brown's gas, not inhalation and not H₂ water.
Ten mg particles released H₂ in a 4-mL probe solution for up to 120 hours in vitro, plateauing by 120–168 hours; the article did not provide a clinically interpretable local H₂ concentration or mL/min flux in tissue.
Surgery alone, blank/non-H₂ microneedles, multiple H₂/QX-314/NIR combinations, H₂-containing gel and subcutaneous morphine.
Outcomes and reported result
Mechanical/thermal withdrawal, wound closure/collagen/CD31, cell migration/angiogenesis, transcriptomics, local/systemic biocompatibility and material release.
H₂-releasing patch groups showed longer pain-threshold and wound-healing improvements than surgery/non-H₂ controls; the combined H₂/QX-314/NIR system performed best, so its effect cannot be assigned to H₂ alone. Body weight and tested liver/kidney/histology safety measures did not differ adversely; multiple cell/assay comparisons were non-significant.
The complete free PMC article, multi-component methods, figures, release/behavior/wound/safety sections and disclosures were checked for group structure, local H₂ generation and missing tissue dose, H₂-only versus combined effects, null safety findings, limitations, funding and conflicts.
A reported association, difference or mechanism is not automatically a clinical benefit.
Limitations and applicability
Complex experimental patch, many treatment arms/endpoints, small histology samples, male rats only, H₂ exposure not quantified in tissue, and strong confounding by QX-314/NIR in the best-performing arm. Chinese public/institutional grants funded the work; authors declared no conflicts.
Prototype postoperative patch in rats; it does not establish human analgesic efficacy, wound benefit, dose or long-term material safety.
No single-study GRADE certainty rating is assigned. Read how records and evidence assessments are prepared.
Sources and record status
PMID: 40548456 · DOI: 10.1002/advs.202503698
Free full article in PubMed Central.
Complete PMC article and PubMed metadata; full-text extraction checked 9 August 2026.
10 August 2026
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