Advances in Skin Wound and Scar Repair by Polymer Scaffolds

Abstract

Scars, as the result of abnormal wound-healing response after skin injury, may lead to loss of aesthetics and physical dysfunction. Current clinical strategies, such as surgical excision, laser treatment, and drug application, provide late remedies for scarring, yet it is difficult to eliminate scars. In this review, the functions, roles of multiple polymer scaffolds in wound healing and scar inhibition are explored. Polysaccharide and protein scaffolds, an analog of extracellular matrix, act as templates for cell adhesion and migration, differentiation to facilitate wound reconstruction and limit scarring. Stem cell-seeded scaffolds and growth factors-loaded scaffolds offer significant bioactive substances to improve the wound healing process. Special emphasis is placed on scaffolds that continuously release oxygen, which greatly accelerates the vascularization process and ensures graft survival, providing convincing theoretical support and great promise for scarless healing.

Polysaccharide-Based Hydrogels for Wound Dressing: Design Considerations and Clinical Applications

“…Hyaluronic acid and sodium alginate are the most extensively used materials and will increasingly occupy the market share in the future. Nevertheless, the healing of wounds is a dynamic and complicated process that it is difficult to have a dressing that is always ideal ( Brumberg et al, 2021 ; Zhou et al, 2021 ). Further studies looking into the modifications of polysaccharide-based hydrogels or the development of other types of polysaccharide-based dressings are still in need to provide more precise control of the physicochemical properties of the gels, cover a wider range of scenarios and have a more pronounced biomodulatory effect on wounds.…”

“…In comparing with traditional hydrogel wound dressings, there are increasing attempts to integrate electronic components to hydrogels, in order to capture subtle changes in the wound site, allowing for more accurate and comprehensive monitoring of the healing process ( Brumberg et al, 2021 ) ( Francesko et al, 2018 ). There are also emerging research to fabricate microneedle-like hydrogels or render them a more varied topological surface profile to better fit the needs of diverse form wounds ( Zhou et al, 2021 ). Ultimately, in corresponding to the idea of precision and personalization medicine, we believe the development of polysaccharide-based hydrogel wound dressings will evolve towards smarter and more portable ways ( Francesko et al, 2018 ; Weller et al, 2020 ).…”

“…Wound is the damage of tissues and/or organs accompanied by the destruction of the integrity of the skin or mucous membrane ( Gupta et al, 2019 ), which plays an extremely important role in preventing water loss and blocking the invasion of harmful substances and pathogenic microorganisms as a significant interface between the body and its surroundings ( Zhou et al, 2021 ). Once a wound is developed, intervention is necessary because the healing process is highly coordinated, including long-term anti-infection, various forms of cell rejuvenation such as collagenation, epithelialization, and tissue remodeling ( Brumberg, Astrelina, Malivanova, & Samoilov, 2021 ).…”

The Treatment of Keloid Scars via Modulating Heterogeneous Gelatin-Structured Composite Microneedles to Control Transdermal Dual-Drug Release

“…Keloid scars are abnormal tissue scars that occur during wound healing. During the proliferation stage of skin wound healing [ 1 ], some fibroblasts gradually differentiate into myofibroblasts to promote shrinkage of the wound edges [ 2 , 3 ]. However, if fibroblasts are excessively activated during wound healing, excessive collagen can be secreted, resulting in an imbalance between the synthesis and degradation of the extracellular matrix (ECM), which leads to the formation of keloid scars [ 4 , 5 ].…”

Bone marrow-derived vasculogenesis leads to scarless regeneration in deep wounds with periosteal defects

“…Therefore, nonsurgical treatments are needed to enable regeneration of lost tissue in deep wounds with periosteal defects.Treatments using scaffolds for wounds could be alternative treatments. Indeed, the application of scaffolds could be efficient [11][12][13][14][15] for deep full-thickness skin wounds alone, although the goal of contemporary treatments using scaffolds is to accelerate wound healing by promoting scar formation 16,17 . In fact, novel treatments for wounds with periosteal defects with the aim of regenerating lost tissue but not forming scars are challenging.In the present study, we developed tissue regeneration for deep wounds with periosteal defects utilizing scaffolds.…”