Hydrocolloid-based OLED patch for enhanced wound-care photobiomodulation with wet-dressing
image: Overview: A Scar-Free, Advanced Moist Dressing Platform Integrating Hydrocolloid and Wearable OLEDs for Simultaneous Moist Environment Provision and Accelerated Phototherapeutic Healing.
Credit: Nano Research, Tsinghua University Press
Technological advancements are driving the diversification of wound treatment modalities, leading to the emergence of innovative approaches that overcome the limitations of conventional phototherapy and attract significant scientific attention. Specifically, a novel therapeutic platform based on Organic Light-Emitting Diodes (OLEDs) has been developed to address the critical drawbacks of existing Laser and Light-Emitting Diode (LED) phototherapy—namely, rigidity, bulkiness, and overheating. This new platform is anticipated to dramatically accelerate wound healing.
Phototherapy is widely used for its efficacy in promoting cell regeneration and mitigating inflammation. However, conventional Laser and LED devices are often bulky, cumbersome to handle, and prone to generating heat during treatment, which can cause patient discomfort. To circumvent these limitations, various wearable OLEDs utilizing plastic substrates have been developed. Despite this progress, these devices remain unsuitable for application on wounds that produce exudate (ooze).
Recently, a research team led by Professor Yongmin Jeon of Kyung Hee University and Professor Eou-Sik Cho of Gachon University reported a novel platform combining OLEDs and hydrocolloids that successfully overcomes all previous shortcomings. This innovative platform simultaneously promotes wound healing through phototherapy while leveraging the hydrocolloid's unique properties—exudate absorption and the provision of a moist wound environment—to enhance skin adhesion and maximize the therapeutic effect. Utilizing a proprietary planarization technology, the research team successfully reduced the substrate's surface roughness (Rq, Root-Mean-Square Roughness) to a remarkably low 0.844 nm. This demonstrates that the luminescence performance of the fabricated OLED device is comparable to that of conventional glass-substrate devices, validating the potential for flexible, high-performance phototherapy.
The clinical potential of this platform was validated through comprehensive experiments. Results demonstrated an in-vitro cell proliferation enhancement of up to 160% at a light intensity of 5 mW/cm2, which provides compelling evidence for accelerated wound healing. Furthermore, experiments utilizing a porcine skin model confirmed the platform's efficacy as a moist dressing by proving the superior moisture retention capability of the hydrocolloid-based OLED on wounds.
The newly developed hydrocolloid-OLED fusion platform demonstrates the potential for an "enhanced wound management platform," poised to revolutionize the paradigm of wearable phototherapy. This innovation is anticipated to open new breakthroughs in the treatment of chronic wounds and various forms of skin damage.
The contributors:
B.S.; Seo Hyeon Kim§, Yu Jin Kwak, In Ho Kim from Gachon University, Korea.
M.S.; Ye Ji Shin from Gachon University, Korea.
PhD candidates; Young Woo Kim§, Jae-Young Jeong§ from Gachon University, Korea.
Professors; Sang-Jik Kwon and Eou-Sik Cho* from Gachon University, Korea. and Yongmin Jeon* from Kyung Hee University, Korea.
Materials & Resources; Hyoung Soon Youn and Jae Won Kim from T&L company, Korea
§ indicates the first author, and * indicates the corresponding author.
This study was supported by the Gachon University Research Fund in 2024 (GCU−202406350001). Also, this research was also supported by a grant of the Korea Health Technology R&D Project through the Korea Health Industry Development Institute (KHIDI), funded by the Ministry of Health & Welfare, Republic of Korea (grant number: HI22C0290). This work was supported by a grant from Kyung Hee University in 2025. (KHU-20251312)
About Nano Research
Nano Research is a peer-reviewed, open access, international and interdisciplinary research journal, sponsored by Tsinghua University and the Chinese Chemical Society, published by Tsinghua University Press on the platform SciOpen. It publishes original high-quality research and significant review articles on all aspects of nanoscience and nanotechnology, ranging from basic aspects of the science of nanoscale materials to practical applications of such materials. After 18 years of development, it has become one of the most influential academic journals in the nano field. Nano Research has published more than 1,000 papers every year from 2022, with its cumulative count surpassing 7,000 articles. In 2024 InCites Journal Citation Reports, its 2024 IF is 9.0 (8.7, 5 years), and it continues to be the Q1 area among the four subject classifications. Nano Research Award, established by Nano Research together with TUP and Springer Nature in 2013, and Nano Research Young Innovators (NR45) Awards, established by Nano Research in 2018, have become international academic awards with global influence.