The healing patterns after 7 days post-implantation
were examined. From gross observation, the wound beds of
the group treated with Odex/CEC hydrogel were considerably
smaller as compared to those of the controls treated with PBS
(result not shown). The histological sections of two typical wound
beds were depicted in Fig. 9. Fig. 9A depicted the histology of
a typical wound bed receiving the Odex/CEC hydrogel; whereas, its
counterpart receiving PBS was depicted in Fig. 9B. The residue of
the hydrogel implanted after 7 days can be seen lacking of initial
integrity in Fig. 9A, implying the biodegradation of the hydrogel.
Granulation tissues were present in the dermis of both groups, with
infiltrated inflammatory cells more abundant in the group treated
with the Odex/CEC hydrogel (see the insets). The extent of wound
healing was quantified as % granulation tissue formation and % reepithelialization/
epidermal hyperplasia. The % granulation tissue
formation of the wound bed received the hydrogel was 84.9 9.0%
(Fig. 9A) as compared to the 46.3 8.3% of the control (Fig. 9B)
(p