Polymer-Based Wound Dressing Materials Loaded with Bioactive Agents: Potential Materials for the Treatment of Diabetic Wounds

Abstract

Diabetic wounds are severe injuries that are common in patients that suffer from diabetes. Most of the presently employed wound dressing scaffolds are inappropriate for treating diabetic wounds. Improper treatment of diabetic wounds usually results in amputations. The shortcomings that are related to the currently used wound dressings include poor antimicrobial properties, inability to provide moisture, weak mechanical features, poor biodegradability, and biocompatibility, etc. To overcome the poor mechanical properties, polymer-based wound dressings have been designed from the combination of biopolymers (natural polymers) (e.g., chitosan, alginate, cellulose, chitin, gelatin, etc.) and synthetic polymers (e.g., poly (vinyl alcohol), poly (lactic-co-glycolic acid), polylactide, poly-glycolic acid, polyurethanes, etc.) to produce effective hybrid scaffolds for wound management. The loading of bioactive agents or drugs into polymer-based wound dressings can result in improved therapeutic outcomes such as good antibacterial or antioxidant activity when used in the treatment of diabetic wounds. Based on the outstanding performance of polymer-based wound dressings on diabetic wounds in the pre-clinical experiments, the in vivo and in vitro therapeutic results of the wound dressing materials on the diabetic wound are hereby reviewed.

Electrospun Chitosan–Polyvinyl Alcohol Nanofiber Dressings Loaded with Bioactive Ursolic Acid Promoting Diabetic Wound Healing

“…The biocompatibility of as-fabricated wound dressings is usually the first to be considered [ 7 , 9 ]. A commercial L929 fibroblast cell line was employed to characterize the cytotoxicity of CS-PVA, CS-PVA-0.1UA, CS-PVA-0.2UA, and CS-PVA-0.5UA nanofiber mats.…”

“…Figure 9 A,C show that the CS-PVA-0.2UA dressing group possessed the highest regeneration rate of hair follicles, and the CS-PVA dressing group exhibited the second highest one, which were both far more than the control group on day 18 postoperatively. The secretion and deposition of collagen is also an important indicator for the quality detection of as-regenerated skin tissues [ 6 , 7 , 9 ]. The results from Masson’s trichrome staining displayed that the CS-PVA-0.2UA dressing group possessed the highest collagen rates in the regenerated skin tissues on the wound bed after 18 days of treatment ( Figure 9 B).…”

“…Comparing with the acute wounds caused by cutting and trauma, the chronic diabetic wound exhibits a more complicated pathological microenvironment with hard-to-heal characteristics [ 6 ]. Unfortunately, there are still no ideal strategies for the scarless regeneration and full recovery of diabetic wound in clinics [ 7 ]. The design and development of advanced dressing materials with multiple functions seem to be a promising strategy to address this intractable issue [ 8 ].…”

A review on contemporary nanomaterial-based therapeutics for the treatment of diabetic foot ulcers (DFUs) with special reference to the Indian scenario

“…In some cases, ulcers develop and progress instantly to gangrene, leading to an inadequate flow of blood. 65 Improper blood supply to the peripheries results in impeded wound healing, which worsens the situation. The decreased amount of arterial prefusion results in the risk of infection and ulceration with impeded wound healing rates, leading to chronic problems involving amputations and gangrene.…”

In vitro and in vivo Evaluation of the Bioactive Nanofibers-Encapsulated Benzalkonium Bromide for Accelerating Wound Repair with MRSA Skin Infection

“… 8 Modern wound dressings avoid re-injury of new granulation tissue due to scarring and promote the differentiation and migration of cell. 9 , 10 Wound dress polymers material that can be cross-linked with many materials include poly(vinyl pyrrolidone), poly(lactic- co -glycolic acid), poly(vinyl alcohol), polyurethanes, polyglycolic acid, polylactide, poly(hydroxyethyl methacrylate), 11 hyaluronic acid, chitosan, collagen, alginate, heparin, cellulose and bioactive peptide. 12 Although various advanced wound dressings have been developed and applied in the clinical setting, there is no relevant study investigating the reasonable selection of wound dressing.…”