SPG in Wound Dressings: Biomedical Applications

Schizophyllum commune (Split Gill)

3 dressing formats

Schizophyllan-based wound dressings come in three distinct formats — electrospun nanofibers, composite hydrogels, and injectable gels — each providing different combinations of biological activity, mechanical properties, and antibacterial protection.

Ansari et al., Carbohydr Polym, 2025

88% antibacterial

SPG/PVA-AgNP nanofibers against E. coli (Safaee-Ardakani 2019)

2.6x drug loading

modified SPG carries 2.6x more curcumin than unmodified (Tu 2023)

No clinical trials

all SPG wound dressing research remains at preclinical stage

Ansari et al., Carbohydr Polym, 2025

Schizophyllan (SPG) is being developed as a wound dressing material through three distinct technical approaches, each with different strengths.^[6] Electrospun nanofiber scaffolds mimic the structure of natural tissue, providing a matrix for cell growth while delivering antibacterial agents. Composite hydrogels combine SPG's biological activity with structural reinforcement from other polymers. Injectable hydrogels allow SPG to fill irregular wound shapes without surgical placement. This article maps the research behind each format and what makes SPG specifically useful as a wound dressing ingredient — rather than simply a passive barrier material. The broader biological mechanisms are covered in Schizophyllan and Wound Healing: Tissue Repair Research. This article is part of the guide to Schizophyllum commune: the most widespread mushroom on earth.

The key distinction between SPG wound dressings and passive wound covers is biological activity. Standard wound dressings (gauze, foam, silicone-coated films) provide a mechanical barrier and maintain moisture. SPG-based dressings do those things, and additionally stimulate the cells responsible for wound repair — fibroblasts, keratinocytes, macrophages — through the same dectin-1 and integrin/FAK/Src signaling pathways documented in the wound healing research.

What Makes SPG Different from Passive Wound Cover Materials

An ideal wound dressing does four things: maintains moist wound environment (accelerates healing compared to dry conditions), provides a bacterial barrier, absorbs wound exudate without traumatizing healing tissue on removal, and ideally contributes biological signals that actively support tissue repair.

Standard dressing materials (gauze, hydrocolloids, foam dressings, silicone-coated interfaces) do the first three to varying degrees. Most do not contribute biological activity to the wound. Silver-impregnated dressings add antibacterial function. Growth factor-loaded dressings add cellular signaling capacity but are expensive, have short shelf lives, and require refrigeration.

SPG's wound dressing value proposition is that a single material provides all three functional layers: structural scaffold (SPG forms fibers, gels, or composite networks), biological signaling (SPG's beta-glucan structure activates fibroblasts, keratinocytes, and macrophages through dectin-1 and integrin/FAK/Src pathways), and antibacterial protection (when combined with silver nanoparticles or amine grafts). The 2024 systematic review by Xu and colleagues confirmed that fungal beta-glucans including SPG activate macrophages for immune-mediated wound repair in a way that distinguishes them from plant-derived beta-glucans like oat beta-glucan.^[7]

Format 1: Electrospun Nanofiber Scaffolds

Electrospinning is a technique that uses high-voltage electric fields to draw polymer solutions into extremely thin fibers, which are then collected as a mesh. Fiber diameters in the nanometer range (hundreds to thousands of times thinner than a human hair) produce meshes that physically resemble the extracellular matrix — the natural scaffold that cells move through in healing tissue. When cells are placed on such a scaffold, the fiber structure provides physical guidance for adhesion, spreading, and migration.

Safaee-Ardakani and colleagues developed the SPG/PVA nanofiber scaffold in 2019, blending schizophyllan with polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) at different ratios and selecting the optimal 20:80 SPG/PVA proportion.^[1] Fiber diameters in the optimal blend ranged from 169 to 212 nanometers. L929 mouse fibroblasts showed improved adhesion and high cell viability on the scaffold over 3 days of testing.

The antibacterial variant — SPG/PVA loaded with silver nanoparticles (AgNP) — achieved 88.34% inhibition of E. coli and 64.7% inhibition of S. aureus in zone-of-inhibition testing. These are bacteria commonly associated with wound infections, and the inhibition rates are clinically meaningful for an antibacterial wound dressing.

Abdel-Mohsen and colleagues established the foundational chemistry for SPG/AgNP composites in 2014, characterizing how silver nanoparticles interact with SPG's polysaccharide chains and establishing the cytotoxicity profile for the composite material.^[2] SPG's triple-helix structure provides a stable matrix for silver nanoparticle attachment — the polysaccharide chains prevent particle aggregation, maintaining the nanoparticle surface area that antibacterial activity depends on.

Format 2: Composite Hydrogel Dressings

Hydrogel wound dressings maintain the moist wound environment that clinical evidence consistently shows accelerates healing — they allow gas exchange while preventing dehydration of the wound surface. SPG hydrogels add biological cell activation to this established function.

Hamedi and colleagues addressed the mechanical weakness of pure SPG hydrogels in 2020 by creating a double-network system combining bacterial cellulose (BC) with amine-grafted SPG.^[3] Bacterial cellulose's crystalline fiber structure provides high tensile strength — approximately 70 MPa in this composite — making the dressing resistant to tearing during application and removal. Amine grafting of SPG added positive charge to the polymer surface, which both enhanced antibacterial activity (positively charged surfaces disrupt bacterial membranes) and improved cell adhesion. Fibroblast proliferation was significantly enhanced compared to bacterial cellulose alone, confirming that SPG's biological activity was preserved within the composite structure.

Tu and colleagues took a different approach in 2023: using SPG as a drug delivery matrix rather than a pure structural material.^[4] They modified SPG with octenyl succinic anhydride to improve its ability to carry lipophilic (fat-soluble) compounds, then loaded curcumin — a plant-derived anti-inflammatory compound — into the modified SPG. The loaded hydrogel achieved 2.6 times higher curcumin loading capacity than unmodified SPG, with sustained release over time. Fibroblast survival in contact with the curcumin-loaded hydrogel exceeded 80%. Most significantly, the hydrogel significantly reduced production of TNF-α and IL-6 — two cytokines that drive chronic inflammatory damage at wound sites — while maintaining self-healing and good tensile properties.

The Tu 2023 system represents a multi-functional wound dressing concept: SPG provides the biological cell stimulation, curcumin provides anti-inflammatory control, and the hydrogel matrix provides the physical structure. All three contributions come from a single material.

Format 3: Injectable Hydrogels

The practical limitation of cast hydrogels (including the BC/SPG and SPG/PVA formats above) is that they must be pre-formed into shapes and then applied to wounds — they cannot adapt to the wound's geometry after placement. Deep wounds with irregular cavities, tunneling wounds, or tissue voids after surgical debridement cannot be effectively covered by a pre-formed sheet dressing.

Chen and colleagues solved this in 2026 with the first purely physical injectable SPG hydrogel.^[5] By exploiting SPG's triple-helix reconstitution behavior — unfolding the helices in solvent, then allowing them to reform — they produced a hydrogel with shear-thinning properties: it flows under the mechanical force of syringe injection, then immediately reforms a stable gel as the shear stress is removed. The gel conforms to whatever space it fills.

The biocompatibility data supports clinical development: >95% fibroblast viability, transient subcutaneous inflammation resolving within 28 days, and mechanical properties tunable over a 10x range by adjusting SPG concentration. No toxic chemical crosslinkers are involved at any step. The full technical detail on the Chen 2026 injectable hydrogel is in Schizophyllan Hydrogels for Medical Applications.

Format Comparison

Three SPG Dressing Formats — Structure, Biology, and Antibacterial Trade-offs

Schizophyllan is engineered into wound dressings three ways. Each format keeps SPG’s cell-activating beta-glucan biology but pairs it with a different structural strategy — and each is demonstrated only at the in vitro or animal stage.

1

Electrospun nanofiber scaffold

Structure

SPG/PVA fibers 169–212 nm, ECM-mimicking mesh

Biology

Improved L929 fibroblast adhesion & viability

Antibacterial / delivery

88.34% E. coli · 64.7% S. aureus (with AgNP)

Safaee-Ardakani 2019 [1] · Abdel-Mohsen 2014 [2]

2

Composite hydrogel

Structure

~70 MPa tensile via bacterial-cellulose network

Biology

>80% fibroblast survival; TNF-α & IL-6 reduced

Antibacterial / delivery

Amine-graft surface charge; 2.6× drug loading

Hamedi 2020 [3] · Tu 2023 [4]

3

Injectable hydrogel

Structure

Shear-thinning, conforms to wound cavity; 10× tunable

Biology

>95% fibroblast viability; no toxic crosslinkers

Antibacterial / delivery

Physical gel; inflammation resolves ≤28 days

Chen 2026 [5]

Strongest in-vivo signal: a full-thickness mouse-wound model found SPG reached a 96.65% healing rate and outperformed a 3M commercial hydrogel dressing (Lei 2025 [10]). That is an animal result — no SPG wound dressing has completed a human clinical trial in any of these three formats.

Sources: Safaee-Ardakani 2019 [1]; Abdel-Mohsen 2014 [2]; Hamedi 2020 [3]; Tu 2023 [4]; Chen 2026 [5]; Lei 2025 [10]. All values are reported preclinical (in vitro or animal-model) measurements, not human-trial outcomes.

The Skincare Application: Topical SPG Beyond Wound Dressings

SPG's biological properties extend beyond acute wound care. Gou and colleagues demonstrated in 2023 that optimized SPG has anti-oxidation, anti-photoaging, and melanin production inhibition properties in cell models.^[8] These properties make SPG relevant for cosmetic applications: protecting skin cells from UV-induced oxidative damage, inhibiting the collagen-degrading processes that drive photoaging, and modulating pigmentation.

These skincare properties share mechanisms with wound healing: oxidative stress management and ECM protection matter in both contexts. SPG-containing skincare formulations are an extension of the same biological activity documented in wound research. The skincare evidence is reviewed in Do Mushroom Skincare Products Actually Work?. The Hamidi 2022 comprehensive review of fungal exopolysaccharides positioned SPG among the most biomedically significant fungal polysaccharides precisely because this range of applications — wound healing, drug delivery, skincare, immunotherapy — is supported by consistent mechanistic data across all contexts.^[9]

SPG vs. Competing Wound Dressing Materials

Standard advanced wound dressings include hydrocolloids (absorb exudate, maintain moisture), foam dressings (high absorbency for heavily exuding wounds), silver-impregnated dressings (antibacterial), and growth factor-loaded dressings (biological stimulation). Each has a clinical niche.

SPG-based dressings would compete in two segments: the antibacterial segment (competing with silver dressings) and the biologically active segment (competing with growth factor dressings). SPG/AgNP composites combine both, which is unusual — most silver dressings do not also activate wound-healing cell types. Growth factor dressings are the most direct comparison for biological activity, but they are expensive (recombinant protein manufacturing), require cold chain storage, and have limited stability. An SPG dressing that activates the same cellular pathways through a stable, GRAS-recognized biopolymer would address some of these limitations.

The clinical demonstration of this advantage has not been made in human trials. The preclinical comparison data supporting this argument comes from the Xu 2024 systematic review,^[7] the Lei 2025 full-thickness mouse-wound model, in which SPG reached a 96.65% wound healing rate and outperformed a 3M commercial hydrogel dressing,^[10] and the individual dressing formulation studies cited above.

For context on how SPG fits within the broader landscape of difficult-to-heal wounds, including diabetic ulcers where beta-glucan wound dressings have the most clinical evidence, see Diabetic Wound Healing and Medicinal Mushrooms: Preclinical Evidence.

The Bottom Line

SPG wound dressings have been developed in three formats: nanofiber scaffolds (Safaee-Ardakani 2019 — 88% E. coli inhibition, fibroblast adhesion), composite hydrogels (Hamedi 2020 BC/SPG — 70 MPa, fibroblast stimulation; Tu 2023 curcumin-loaded — 2.6x drug loading, TNF-α/IL-6 reduction), and injectable hydrogels (Chen 2026 — >95% fibroblast viability, no toxic crosslinkers, conforms to wound geometry). SPG's advantage over passive dressing materials is biological activity: it stimulates fibroblasts, keratinocytes, and macrophages through dectin-1 and integrin pathways rather than simply covering the wound. No SPG wound dressing has completed clinical trials.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is SPG wound dressing?

An SPG wound dressing is a wound covering made from schizophyllan, the beta-glucan polysaccharide from Schizophyllum commune (split gill mushroom). Unlike passive covers, SPG dressings actively stimulate fibroblasts, keratinocytes, and macrophages — the cells responsible for wound repair — through dectin-1 and integrin/FAK/Src receptor pathways. They come in nanofiber, hydrogel, and injectable formats, often combined with silver nanoparticles for antibacterial activity.

What are the applications of schizophyllan in medicine?

Schizophyllan has established pharmaceutical use as a cancer immunotherapy adjunct in Japan (approved since 1985). In ongoing research, it is being developed for wound dressings (nanofibers, hydrogels, injectable gels), drug delivery systems (carrying anti-inflammatory compounds with sustained release), tissue engineering scaffolds, and skincare formulations (anti-photoaging, antioxidant). All wound healing and drug delivery applications are preclinical.

How are mushroom polysaccharides used in wound dressings?

Mushroom polysaccharides like SPG are incorporated into wound dressings as the active biological ingredient. The polysaccharide chains either form the structural scaffold directly (nanofibers, hydrogels) or are blended with structural polymers (PVA, bacterial cellulose) that provide mechanical strength. SPG's beta-glucan structure then activates immune cells and tissue-repair cells at the wound site through pattern recognition receptors, adding a biological signaling layer absent from passive wound covers.

What makes schizophyllan good for biomedical use?

Three properties distinguish SPG: (1) biological activity — its branched beta-glucan structure activates dectin-1 receptors on macrophages, fibroblasts, and keratinocytes, stimulating wound repair; (2) triple-helix self-assembly — allows hydrogel formation without toxic chemical crosslinkers; (3) established safety — GRAS status and decades of pharmaceutical use in Japan provide a strong biocompatibility record. Most biomedical polymers have either biological activity or established safety at this stage of development, not both.

Are there mushroom-based wound dressings?

In research, yes. SPG-based wound dressings have been demonstrated in laboratory and animal studies in multiple formats. No mushroom-derived wound dressing product has received clinical approval or completed human clinical trials. The SPG research base (nanofibers through injectable hydrogels, 2014-2026) represents the most developed mushroom polysaccharide wound dressing program currently in the literature.

Sources & References

1. 1RTHM-01119·Safaee-Ardakani, Mohammad Reza et al. (2019). “Electrospun Schizophyllan/polyvinyl alcohol blend nanofibrous scaffold as potential wound healing..” International journal of biological macromolecules.Study breakdown →PubMed →↩
2. 2RTHM-00577·Abdel-Mohsen, A M et al. (2014). “Preparation, characterization and cytotoxicity of schizophyllan/silver nanoparticle composite..” Carbohydrate polymers.Study breakdown →PubMed →↩
3. 3RTHM-01196·Hamedi, Sepideh et al. (2020). “A novel double-network antibacterial hydrogel based on aminated bacterial cellulose and schizophyllan..” Carbohydrate polymers.Study breakdown →PubMed →↩
4. 4RTHM-01808·Tu, Lingyun et al. (2023). “Production and Anti-Inflammatory Performance of PVA Hydrogels Loaded with Curcumin Encapsulated in Octenyl Succinic Anhydride Modified Schizophyllan as Wound Dressings..” Molecules (Basel.Study breakdown →PubMed →↩
5. 5RTHM-02225·Chen, Liyong et al. (2026). “Solvent-annealed triple-helix reconstituted schizophyllan hydrogels with mechanically tunable and injectable properties..” Carbohydrate polymers.Study breakdown →PubMed →↩
6. 6RTHM-02051·Ansari, Elham et al. (2025). “Research progress on production and biomedical applications of Schizophyllan as a tailor-made polysaccharide: A review..” Carbohydrate polymers.Study breakdown →PubMed →↩
7. 7RTHM-02023·Xu, Chunhua et al. (2024). “β-Glucans obtained from fungus for wound healing: A review..” Carbohydrate polymers.Study breakdown →PubMed →↩
8. 8RTHM-01699·Gou, Zekai et al. (2023). “Efficient production and skincare activity evaluation of schizophyllan, a β-glucan derived from Schizophyllum commune NTU-1..” International journal of biological macromolecules.Study breakdown →PubMed →↩
9. 9RTHM-01532·Hamidi, Masoud et al. (2022). “Fungal exopolysaccharides: Properties, sources, modifications, and biomedical applications..” Carbohydrate polymers.Study breakdown →PubMed →↩
10. 10RTHM-02127·Lei, Peixuan et al. (2025). “Effect and mechanism of non-homopolymeric schizophyllan in wound healing..” International journal of biological macromolecules.Study breakdown →PubMed →↩