Figure 6.

Histological assessment by H&E staining of local inflammation response in the skin tissues surrounding hydrogel implants (after 14 days). a) PF‐A group; b) PF‐A + AuNPs group; c) negative control skin. Cell nuclei appear in blue, while cytoplasm, elastin, and collagen are in pink. The gels are pointed with dashed arrows, whereas the slight presence of inflammatory cells at the surface of hydrogel volumes is pointed to with solid arrows. Ep: epidermis; D: dermis; A: adipose tissue; M: muscle; C: conjunctive tissue. The thickness of the slice is 5 µm.