Jul 2026· Theoretical and Natural Science· Vol 178, pp. 200-209· 0 citations
TL;DR
This paper systematically sorts out the material design strategies of wound repair hydrogels, deeply discusses their core mechanisms of action in antibacterial, hemostatic, anti-inflammatory and pro-regenerative aspects, and summarizes their application progress in typical scenarios such as acute and chronic wounds as well as burns and scalds.
Abstract
Wound healing is a complex pathological process covering four stages: hemostasis, inflammation, proliferation, and remodeling. Traditional dry dressings (such as gauze and bandages) have poor moisture retention, easily adhere to newly formed tissues, and lack sufficient antibacterial capacity, making it difficult to meet the repair needs of complex wounds. With their highly hydrophilic biomimetic three-dimensional network structure, hydrogels can highly mimic the Extracellular Matrix (ECM) and provide an ideal scaffold for cell proliferation. Their water content as high as 80%–95% can not only build a moist microenvironment conducive to healing and reduce damage during dressing changes, but also their excellent flexibility can adapt to high-mobility parts such as joints. In addition, hydrogels have excellent functional customizability and can serve as carriers for targeted delivery of drugs and bioactive substances, realizing the paradigm shift from "passive barrier protection" to "active regulatory therapy". This paper systematically sorts out the material design strategies of wound repair hydrogels, deeply discusses their core mechanisms of action in antibacterial, hemostatic, anti-inflammatory and pro-regenerative aspects, and summarizes their application progress in typical scenarios such as acute and chronic wounds as well as burns and scalds. Finally, this paper analyzes the current insufficient mechanical properties and barriers to clinical translation, and puts forward a prospective outlook on the future development trend of multifunctional integration and intelligence.
The skin serves as the primary barrier against external physical damage and microbial invasion. When the skin is compromised, effective wound management becomes essential for maintaining tissue integrity and preventing complications. Although conventional wound dressings provide basic protection, they often fail to meet the complex and dynamic requirements of different stages of wound healing. Owing to their highly hydrated three-dimensional networks, tunable physicochemical properties, and excellent biocompatibility, hydrogels have emerged as promising platforms for advanced wound care. Recent advances in material engineering have enabled hydrogels to integrate multiple therapeutic functions, including hemostasis, antibacterial activity, immunomodulation, antioxidant regulation, angiogenesis promotion, scar reduction, and controlled drug delivery, thereby facilitating coordinated tissue regeneration. This review summarizes recent advances in hydrogel-based wound dressings, including the biological process of skin wound healing, hydrogel material classification, fabrication and crosslinking strategies, and multifunctional hydrogel design. Particular attention is given to the relationship between hydrogel functions and different stages of wound healing, as well as the advantages and limitations of various hydrogel systems. Finally, current challenges related to mechanical properties, clinical translation, large-animal evaluation, and manufacturing standardization are discussed, together with emerging strategies such as stimulus-responsive hydrogels and programmable therapeutic systems for future wound management.
Wound healing is an extremely complex physiological process. Different types of wounds (e.g., burns, bone defects, gastrointestinal ulcers, skin trauma, and diabetic ulcers) exhibit distinct pathological characteristics and therapeutic requirements. Traditional treatment methods not only struggle to meet these complex demands but also involve prolonged and intricate procedures, causing significant patient suffering. Therefore, the development of novel biomaterials, particularly multifunctional hydrogels, has become a research hotspot in recent years. Hydrogels are biomaterials with a three-dimensional network structure, characterized by high water absorption capacity, excellent biocompatibility, stimuli responsiveness, tunable mechanical properties, and functionalization potential, which have demonstrated broad application prospects in wound therapy. Their multifunctionality and tunable physicochemical properties enable them to address the needs of diverse wound types, including acute, chronic, and infected ones, providing effective treatment strategies. This Review summarizes the applications of hydrogels in various wound types over the past 4 years, covering clinical scenarios such as burns, bone repair, gastrointestinal wounds, full-thickness skin injuries, and diabetic wounds. It highlights the multifunctionality, biocompatibility, antimicrobial properties, and prohealing capabilities of hydrogels in wound treatment, offering innovative approaches and insights for diverse wound management.
Wei-Yi Kong, Yuying Zhang, H. Liang et al.· ACS Omega· 0 citations
Skin wound healing is a complex and dynamic biological process that requires the suppression of excessive inflammation and oxidative stress, control of microbial invasion, and promotion of tissue regeneration. Conventional wound dressings often fail to modulate the wound microenvironment, limiting their effectiveness in chronic and infected wounds. In recent years, microgels have emerged as a promising candidate for wound healing due to their injectability, high surface area, tunable physicochemical properties, adaptability to irregular wound surface, and ability to encapsulate diverse therapeutic agents. Herein, recent advances in the design and fabrication of multifunctional microgels, highlighting their building blocks, fabrication strategies, and key characterization techniques are summarized. The application of microgels for skin wound healing is discussed, with emphasis on their roles in drug delivery, antibacterial action, antioxidant activity, and immunomodulation. Furthermore, recent progress in microgel-based hybrid dressings is reviewed, where microgels are integrated with other material systems, such as hydrogels, to achieve enhanced therapeutic performance. Finally, current challenges and future perspectives related to the clinical translation of microgel-based wound dressings are outlined. Overall, this review provides a comprehensive overview of microgel-based strategies and underscores their growing potential in advanced wound care applications.
Healing a wound is a complex biological process involving hemostasis, inflammation, cell proliferation, and tissue remodeling. Ad interim, polysaccharide based biomaterials have also attracted significant attention in wound healing due to their intrinsic biocompatibility, biodegradability and structural versatility, and ability to actively modulate the wound microenvironment. This review focuses on key polysaccharides, including alginate, chitosan and hyaluronic acid and discusses their roles across different stages of wound healing by correlating material structure with biological performance. The relationship between material structure and biological performance is discussed to understand their therapeutic effects. Recent advances in hybrid biomaterials, ion-coordination strategies, and stimuli-responsive dressings are highlighted for their roles in enhancing antimicrobial activity, promoting angiogenesis, and enabling controlled therapeutic delivery. Special emphasis is also placed on the emerging role of polysaccharide-based biomaterials in combating chronic wound-associated biofilms through disruption of the extracellular polymeric substance matrix, modulation of quorum-sensing pathways, and localized antimicrobial delivery. These multifunctional approaches improve infection control while simultaneously supporting tissue regeneration, thereby addressing one of the principal challenges associated with chronic wound management. The purpose of this review is to look at the impact of the use of these materials on the environment, specifically by looking at both their biodegradability and lessening of our dependency on synthetic polymers, as well as presenting an integrated design framework that links the composition, physicochemical characteristics, and biological demands of biomaterials within a time-based context to provide a rational approach for developing future wound dressings. Despite promising progress, challenges related to reproducibility, scalability, and clinical translation remain significant, underscoring the need for standardized evaluation and interdisciplinary approaches.
Pritiman Pothal, Sunny Chugh, Guramrit Kaur et al.· Frontiers in Cellular and In...· 0 citations
Acute and chronic wounds remain a major clinical burden, motivating the design of multilayer biomedical composite systems capable of combining structural support, antimicrobial protection, and controlled release of therapeutic agents within a single device. These architectures integrate natural and synthetic biomaterials, hydrogels, electrospun membranes, bioactive nanoparticles, and 3D-printed scaffolds to reproduce the multifunctionality of the native extracellular matrix. This review examines how layer-by-layer design and biomaterial selection govern mechanical strength, as well as bioactivity, and how these parameters can be tuned to the distinct phases of wound repair. Particular emphasis is placed on strategies for incorporating growth factors, antimicrobial agents, metal/metal-oxide nanoparticles to enhance re-epithelialization, angiogenesis, and infection control; emerging gene-based delivery strategies are also discussed. The main technologies and biomaterial combinations reported to date are compared, alongside a critical overview of their in vitro and in vivo performance. Reproducibility, scalability, and regulatory standardization remain the main barriers to clinical translation. We conclude by outlining priority research directions to advance multilayer composites from bench-scale prototypes toward approved wound-care products.
Jocelyn Marcela Alcalá-Zacarías, J. M. Cornejo-Bravo, A. Serrano-Medina et al.· Journal of Composites Scienc...· 0 citations
The postoperative microenvironment is a highly biologically dynamic environment that is associated with an increased risk of complications, including adhesions, fibrosis, infection, and delayed healing, which can cause significant inconvenience to patients. Conventional materials, such as cotton gauze and surgical sutures, primarily function as passive physical barriers, often lacking to address the multiple issues governing functional tissue repair. Electrospun nanofibers have been effective as dynamic regulators of the post-surgical microenvironment, facilitating simultaneous modulation of key biological events, such as immune modulation, macrophage phenotype switching, angiogenesis, collagen organization, and tissue regeneration, leading to faster and better healing. Overall, this review aims to provide a focused and mechanistic perspective on electrospun nanofibers as multifunctional, bioactive scaffolds capable of enabling functional tissue regeneration rather than merely serving as passive wound dressing and nominate it as a sustainable alternative for developing next-generation smart scaffolds intended for postsurgical healing.
Animita Das, K. Chethan, N. Shetty et al.· Discover Materials· 0 citations