Hydrogels and Wound Healing: Current and Future Prospects

Abstract

The care and rehabilitation of acute and chronic wounds have a significant social and economic impact on patients and global health. This burden is primarily due to the adverse effects of infections, prolonged recovery, and the associated treatment costs. Chronic wounds can be treated with a variety of approaches, which include surgery, negative pressure wound therapy, wound dressings, and hyperbaric oxygen therapy. However, each of these strategies has an array of limitations. The existing dry wound dressings lack functionality in promoting wound healing and exacerbating pain by adhering to the wound. Hydrogels, which are commonly polymer-based and swell in water, have been proposed as potential remedies due to their ability to provide a moist environment that facilitates wound healing. Their unique composition enables them to absorb wound exudates, exhibit shape adaptability, and be modified to incorporate active compounds such as growth factors and antibacterial compounds. This review provides an updated discussion of the leading natural and synthetic hydrogels utilized in wound healing, details the latest advancements in hydrogel technology, and explores alternate approaches in this field. Search engines Scopus, PubMed, Science Direct, and Web of Science were utilized to review the advances in hydrogel applications over the last fifteen years.

Receptor Targeting Using Copolymer-Modified Gold Nanoparticles for pCMV-Luc Gene Delivery to Liver Cancer Cells In Vitro

“…It is a polysaccharide derivative of chitin that is organic, nontoxic, biodegradable, and biocompatible [9]. Chitosan is similar in structure to glycosaminoglycans found in the extracellular matrix of cartilage, adding to its benefits in a nano-formulation [10,11]. Due to the interaction between their active amino groups and the negatively charged metal NPs, CS has also developed into a popular polymer coating [12].…”