Wound healing is a complicated and continuous process affected by several factors, which needs an appropriate surrounding to achieve accelerated healing. Wound healing process recruits three different phases: inflammation, proliferation, and maturation. Due to the different types of wounds, as well as the advancement in medical technology, various products have been developed to repair different skin lesions. Our objective is to investigate the advancement in wound dressings from traditional to the current methods of treatment. The article presents the characteristics of an ideal wound dressing, the requirements for the appropriate selection of different types of wounds, and a detailed classification of wound dressings. Animal origin, herbal origin, and synthetic dressings are firstly introduced and reviewed. Then, nonmedicated dressings including alginate, hydrogel, and hydrocolloid dressings, as well as medicated dressings are discussed. Finally, the developmental prospectives of the new generations of wound dressings for future researches are presented. © 2019 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 2019, 136, 47738.

Collagen is an insoluble fibrous protein that composes the extracellular matrix in animals. Although collagen has been used as a biomaterial since 1881, the properties and the complex structure of collagen are still extensive study subjects worldwide. In this article, several topics of importance for understanding collagen research are reviewed starting from its historical milestones, followed by the description of the collagen superfamily and its complex structures, with a focus on type I collagen. Subsequently, some of the superior properties of collagen‐based biomaterials, such as biocompatibility, biodegradability, mechanical properties, and cell activities, are pinpointed. These properties make collagen applicable in biomedicine, such as wound healing, tissue engineering, surface coating of medical devices, and skin supplementation. Moreover, some antimicrobial strategies and the general host tissue responses regarding collagen as a biomaterial are presented. Finally, the current status and clinical application of the three‐dimensional (3D) printing techniques for the fabrication of collagen‐based scaffolds and the reconstruction of the human heart's constituents, such as capillary structures or even the entire organ, are discussed. Besides, an overall outlook for the future of this unique biomaterial is provided.

Nylon is a human‐made material and has been applied in many industrial fields. This literature review explores the use of nylon in biomedical applications and discusses the properties and three‐dimensional (3D) printability of this material. Nylon is studied due to its versatility as an engineering plastic that can be easily transformed into fibers, films, and molded parts. Due to nylon's biocompatible nature, it has desirable chemical stability and tunable mechanical properties making this material and its derivatives widely used as sutures, catheters, dentures, and so on. However, the interactions between nylon and human body tissues have yet to be fully understood. Nevertheless, nylon is hybridized with different materials and used as skin dressings. In recent years, nylon composites have been actively researched in tissue engineering as an alternative to metallic implants with an appropriate bioactivity potential for bone growth. As nylon is supposed to be in contact with the tissue for a long time, hence researchers are developing antimicrobial strategies for the nylon materials to even promote their potential a step further. The 3D printing of nylon is currently confined to specific applications due to the printing technology's current limitations.

Commercially pure titanium and titanium alloys have been among the most commonly used materials for biomedical applications since the 1950s. Due to the excellent mechanical tribological properties, corrosion resistance, biocompatibility, and antibacterial properties of titanium, it is getting much attention as a biomaterial for implants. Furthermore, titanium promotes osseointegration without any additional adhesives by physically bonding with the living bone at the implant site. These properties are crucial for producing high-strength metallic alloys for biomedical applications. Titanium alloys are manufactured into the three types of α, β, and α + β. The scientific and clinical understanding of titanium and its potential applications, especially in the biomedical field, are still in the early stages. This review aims to establish a credible platform for the current and future roles of titanium in biomedicine. We first explore the developmental history of titanium. Then, we review the recent advancement of the utility of titanium in diverse biomedical areas, its functional properties, mechanisms of biocompatibility, host tissue responses, and various relevant antimicrobial strategies. Future research will be directed toward advanced manufacturing technologies, such as powder-based additive manufacturing, electron beam melting and laser melting deposition, as well as analyzing the effects of alloying elements on the biocompatibility, corrosion resistance, and mechanical properties of titanium. Moreover, the role of titania nanotubes in regenerative medicine and nanomedicine applications, such as localized drug delivery system, immunomodulatory agents, antibacterial agents, and hemocompatibility, is investigated, and the paper concludes with the future outlook of titanium alloys as biomaterials. Graphic abstract

The massive plastic production worldwide leads to a global concern for the pollution made by the plastic wastes and the environmental issues associated with them. One of the best solutions is replacing the fossil-based plastics with bioplastics. Bioplastics such as polylactic acid (PLA) are biodegradable materials with less greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. PLA is a biopolymer produced from natural resources with good mechanical and chemical properties, therefore, it is used widely in packaging, agriculture, and biomedical industries. PLA products mostly end up in landfills or composting. In this review paper, the existing life cycle assessments (LCA) for PLA were comprehensively reviewed and classified. According to the LCAs, the energy and materials used in the whole life cycle of PLA were reported. Finally, the GHG emissions of PLA in each stage of its life cycle, including feedstock acquisition and conversion, manufacturing of PLA products, the PLA applications, and the end of life (EoL) options, were described. The most energy-intensive stage in the life cycle of PLA is its conversion. By optimizing the conversion process of PLA, it is possible to make it a low-carbon material with less dependence on energy sources.