A novel poly(γ-glutamic acid)/silk-sericin hydrogel for wound dressing: Synthesis, characterization and biological evaluation

•Novel biodegradable hydrogels from γ-PGA and SS were successfully fabricated.•The preparation of hydrogel for wound dressing is simple.•The addition of SS in hydrogel improved the mechanical and biological properties.•The hydrogel has the feasibility to use in clinical application.

A novel multifunctional poly(γ-glutamic acid)/silk sericin (γ-PGA/SS) hydrogel has been developed and used as wound dressing. The physical and chemical properties of the γ-PGA/SS gels were systemically investigated. Furthermore, these γ-PGA/SS gels have been found to promote the L929 fibroblast cells proliferate, and in the in vivo study, significant stimulatory effects were also observed on granulation and capillary formation on day 9 in H-2-treated wounds, indicating that this new complex hydrogel could maintain a moist healing environment, protect the wound from bacterial infection, absorb excess exudates, and promote cell proliferation to reconstruct damaged tissue. Considering the simple preparation process and excellent biological property, this γ-PGA/SS hydrogel might have a wide range of applications in biomedical and clinical areas.