Citation: Jia Lin, Le Ding, Yingting Wu, Haoyang Li, Yi Wu, Chen Li, Quangang Zhu, Zhongjian Chen, Xiaoyan Cui, Ting Wang. Photoactivatable hydrogen sulfide donors for visualizing H₂S controlled release in accelerated chronic wound healing[J]. Chinese Chemical Letters, ;2026, 37(10): 112100. doi: 10.1016/j.cclet.2025.112100 shu

Photoactivatable hydrogen sulfide donors for visualizing H₂S controlled release in accelerated chronic wound healing

Jia Lin ^{a, 1} ,
Le Ding ^{b, d, 1} ,
Yingting Wu ^{e, 1} ,
Haoyang Li ^a ,
Yi Wu ^a ,
Chen Li ^{a, *,} ,
Quangang Zhu ^{b, c, *,} ,
Zhongjian Chen ^{b, c, *,} ,
Xiaoyan Cui ^{a, *,} ,
Ting Wang ^{b, c, *,}

a.
School of Chemistry and Molecular Engineering, East China Normal University, Shanghai 200241, China
b.
Shanghai Skin Disease Hospital, School of Medicine, Tongji University, Shanghai 200443, China
c.
Shanghai Engineering Research Center of Topical Chinese Medicine, Shanghai 200443, China
d.
School of Medicine, Shanghai University, Shanghai 200444, China
e.
Department of Clinical Laboratory, Shanghai First Maternity and Infant Hospital, School of Medicine, Tongji University, Shanghai 200092, China

cli@chem.ecnu.edu.cn

qgzhu@126.com

aajian818@163.com

xycui@chem.ecnu.edu.cn

wangting1983927@gmail.com

Received Date: 14 August 2025
Revised Date: 10 November 2025
Accepted Date: 11 November 2025
Available Online: 12 November 2025

Figures(7)

Hydrogen sulfide (H₂S) is a pivotal endogenous gaseous signalling molecule involved in various physiological processes. Although H₂S exhibits significant anti-inflammatory effects at physiological concentrations, its clinical utility is hindered by the challenges associated with its high activity and difficulties in controlled release. We designed three photoactivatable H₂S donors, HSDs (HSD1, HSD2, and HSD3), by integrating an H₂S-releasing 1,4,2-dioxazole-5-thione scaffold with three fluorophores spanning the ultraviolet to red spectral range. Upon photo-irradiation, each donor induces a pronounced turn-on fluorescence (> 58-fold), accompanied by efficient H₂S release (over 30%) without the formation of electrophilic by-products. Moreover, HSDs enable real-time quantitatively photo-triggered H₂S-release in both live cells and murine models, and present anti-inflammatory and antioxidant effects in vivo. In a full-thickness cutaneous wound model, HSDs markedly accelerated wound healing, highlighting their potential as precision therapeutic agents for wound management. Collectively, we provide a translatable strategy to overcome the limitations of conventional H₂S delivery systems and highlight the therapeutic promise of controlled H₂S release in clinical application.
- H₂S donors,
- Photo-activation,
- No by-products,
- Controlled release,
- Wound healing
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Photoactivatable hydrogen sulfide donors for visualizing H2S controlled release in accelerated chronic wound healing

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Photoactivatable hydrogen sulfide donors for visualizing H₂S controlled release in accelerated chronic wound healing