The treatment of skin wounds is a key research domain owing to the important functional and aesthetic role of this tissue. When the skin is impaired, bacteria can soon infiltrate into underlying tissues which can lead to life-threatening infections. Consequently, effective treatments are necessary to deal with such pathological conditions. Recently, wound dressings loaded with antimicrobial agents have emerged as viable options to reduce wound bacterial colonization and infection, in order to improve the healing process. In this paper, we present an overview of the most prominent antibiotic-embedded wound dressings, as well as the limitations of their use. A promising, but still an underrated group of potential antibacterial agents that can be integrated into wound dressings are natural products, especially essential oils. Some of the most commonly used essential oils against multidrug-resistant microorganisms, such as tea tree, St. John’s Wort, lavender and oregano, together with their incorporation into wound dressings are presented. In addition, another natural product that exhibits encouraging antibacterial activity is honey. We highlight recent results of several studies carried out by researchers from different regions of the world on wound dressings impregnated with honey, with a special emphasis on Manuka honey. Finally, we highlight recent advances in using nanoparticles as platforms to increase the effect of pharmaceutical formulations aimed at wound healing. Silver, gold, and zinc nanoparticles alone or functionalized with diverse antimicrobial compounds have been integrated into wound dressings and demonstrated therapeutic effects on wounds.

/pdf/treatment-strategies-for-infected-wounds-3anlmw5692.pdf

Treatment Strategies for Infected Wounds.

The accelerating and thorough treatment of chronic wounds still represents a major unmet medical need owing to the complex symptoms resulting from metabolic disorder of the wound microenvironment. Although numerous strategies and bioactive hydrogels are developed, an effective and widely used method of chronic wound treatment remains a bottleneck. With the aim to accelerate chronic wound healing, many hydrogel dressings with antioxidant functions have emerged and are proven to accelerate wound healing, especially for chronic wound repair. The new strategy in chronic wound treatment brought by antioxidant hydrogels is of great significance to human health. Here, the application of antioxidant hydrogels in the repair of chronic wounds is discussed systematically, aiming to provide an important theoretical reference for the further breakthrough of chronic wound healing.

Advances and Impact of Antioxidant Hydrogel in Chronic Wound Healing.

Although several therapeutic approaches are available for wound and burn treatment and much progress has been made in this area, room for improvement still exists, driven by the urgent need of better strategies to accelerate wound healing and recovery, mostly for cases of severe burned patients. Bacterial cellulose (BC) is a biopolymer produced by bacteria with several advantages over vegetal cellulose, such as purity, high porosity, permeability to liquid and gases, elevated water uptake capacity and mechanical robustness. Besides its biocompatibility, BC can be modified in order to acquire antibacterial response and possible local drug delivery features. Due to its intrinsic versatility, BC is the perfect example of a biotechnological response to a clinical problem. In this review, we assess the BC main features and emphasis is given to a specific biomedical application: wound dressings. The production process and the physical-chemical properties that entitle this material to be used as wound dressing namely for burn healing are highlighted. An overview of the most common BC composites and their enhanced properties, in particular physical and biological, is provided, including the different production processes. A particular focus is given to the biochemistry and genetic manipulation of BC. A summary of the current marketed BC-based wound dressing products is presented, and finally, future perspectives for the usage of BC as wound dressing are foreseen.

/pdf/bacterial-cellulose-a-versatile-biopolymer-for-wound-322dikm799.pdf

Bacterial cellulose: a versatile biopolymer for wound dressing applications

A fundamental understanding of the nanoscale details of the environment is essential for designing biomaterials that mimic the natural cellular milieu. Many features of the local environment have profound influences on cell adhesion, proliferation, maturation, and differentiation. As such, small differences in nanostructure can have macroscale impacts on tissue function. In this review, we highlight the importance of nanostructure of cellulose-based biomaterials to allow cellular adhesion, the contribution of nanostructure to macroscale mechanical properties, and several key applications of these materials for fundamental scientific research and biomedical engineering. Cellulose is a diverse material with tunable properties and can be applied to systems with vastly different biochemical and biophysical environments. Cellulose-based biomaterials offer some important advantages over conventional synthetic materials and show great promise to advance the frontier of scientific knowledge. Here we provide an up-to-date summary of the status of the field of cellulose-based biomaterials in the context of bottom-up approaches for tissue engineering. We anticipate that cellulose-based material research will continue to expand because of the diversity and versatility of biochemical and biophysical characteristics highlighted in this review.

/pdf/cellulose-biomaterials-for-tissue-engineering-3kjnvliomh.pdf

Cellulose Biomaterials for Tissue Engineering.

Bacterial cellulose (BC), with non-toxicity, high purity, and biocompatibility, has been considered as a versatile candidate for various biomedical applications. Recently, the fabrication of BC-bas...

Bacterial Cellulose-Based Composite Scaffolds for Biomedical Applications: A Review

In this study, we report the design and fabrication of a novel biocompatible sponge with excellent antibacterial property, making it a promising material for wound dressings. The sponge is formed by grafting amoxicillin onto regenerated bacterial cellulose (RBC). It was observed that the grafted RBC could enhance the antibacterial activity against fungus, Gram-negative, and Gram-positive bacteria. The morphology of strains treated with the grafted RBC and fluorescent stain results further demonstrated the antibacterial ability of the fabricated sponge. Moreover, a cytocompatibility test evaluated in vitro and in vivo illustrates the nontoxicity of the prepared sponge. More importantly, the wound infection model reveals that this sponge can accelerate the wound healing in vivo. This work indicates the novel sponge has the huge potential in wound dressing application for clinical use.

Flexible Amoxicillin-Grafted Bacterial Cellulose Sponges for Wound Dressing: In Vitro and in Vivo Evaluation

Novel bioactive surface functionalization of bacterial cellulose membrane

Development of gelatin/bacterial cellulose composite sponges as potential natural wound dressings.

A Double cross-linked strategy to construct graphene aerogels with highly efficient methylene blue adsorption performance

The aim of this study was to prepare nonleaching chitosan based wound dressings via chemical modification. A green and facile method was applied to fabricate ampicillin grafted chitosan (CSAP) sponges. The morphology, porosity, and swelling behavior of CSAP sponges were analyzed. Specifically, the antibacterial activity of CSAP sponges toward Staphylococcus aureus, Candida albicans, and Escherichia coli was assessed using a series of assays, including bacterial growth curve, nucleic acids leakage, and live/dead staining. As expected, CSAP sponges exhibit excellent antibacterial activity without any leaching. The cytotoxicity assay was carried out on HEK293 cells in vitro, and the result prove the good biocompatibility of the developed sponges. Moreover, the wound healing ability was evaluated using a wound model in vivo, and the result shows that the sponge could speed up wound healing efficiently. Thus, the chemically modified chitosan sponges exhibit great potential as promising wound dressings.

Lei Jiang

Papers

Flexible Amoxicillin-Grafted Bacterial Cellulose Sponges for Wound Dressing: In Vitro and in Vivo Evaluation

Novel bioactive surface functionalization of bacterial cellulose membrane

Development of gelatin/bacterial cellulose composite sponges as potential natural wound dressings.

A Double cross-linked strategy to construct graphene aerogels with highly efficient methylene blue adsorption performance

Green and Facile Preparation of Chitosan Sponges as Potential Wound Dressings