Aim: Diabetic wound healing is seriously interrupted, and administration of KGF for wound treatment is restricted by its inherent instability. We aim to develop an ideal way toward KGF stabilization, thus improving diabetic wound healing. Materials & methods: We conjugated KGF with gold nanoparticles (GNPs) and determined the stability and binding affinity. Biological effects of conjugates (KGF-GNPs) were evaluated in vitro and in an animal model. Results: KGF-GNPs revealed high stability under hostile circumstances because of the preserved secondary structure and possessed elevated binding affinity to KGF receptor. Moreover, application of KGF-GNPs contributed to accelerated wound recovery in diabetic rats, including re-epithelialization and contraction. Conclusion: KGF-GNPs were promising for future clinical application for diabetic wound therapy.
Keywords: KGF; TGF-β1; binding affinity; diabetic wound; gold nanoparticles; protein secondary structure; stability.