Chronic diabetic wounds, a debilitating complication of diabetes, face healing challenges due to hypoxia and impaired cellular response. Low-level light therapy (LLLT) has emerged as an effective, noninvasive, and painless therapeutic approach for wound management. However, the bulkiness of traditional light sources and the need for frequent clinic visits have limited its widespread adoption.

Cyanobacteria, which produce oxygen through photosynthesis by absorbing red light, are a promising option for alleviating hypoxia. A synergistic strategy of bioactive cyanobacteria combined with LLLT offers a promising, noninvasive way to accelerate wound repair.

Illustrated on the cover of Advanced Photonics Nexus Volume 4 Issue 4, the wearable light-emitting bandage combines cyanobacterial oxygen generation with red-light photobiomodulation (660 nm, 2 mW/cm²) for dual therapeutic action in a flexible design. This innovation bridges wearable photonics and clinical translation to improve chronic wound management.

For details, see the original Gold Open Access article by Shenyan Zhang, Lingbao Kong, Penghao Ji, and Minfeng Huo, “Self-oxygenated wearable light-emitting bandage for photobiomodulation against diabetic wounds,” Adv. Photon. Nexus4(4) 046005 (2025), doi: 10.1117/1.APN.4.4.046005.