Polymeric biomaterials for wound healing

Cristiana Oliveira; Diana Sousa; José A Teixeira; Pedro Ferreira-Santos; Claudia M Botelho

doi:10.3389/fbioe.2023.1136077

Polymeric biomaterials for wound healing

Front Bioeng Biotechnol. 2023 Jul 27:11:1136077. doi: 10.3389/fbioe.2023.1136077. eCollection 2023.

Authors

Cristiana Oliveira^{1

2}, Diana Sousa^{1

2}, José A Teixeira^{1

2}, Pedro Ferreira-Santos^{1

2

3}, Claudia M Botelho^{1

2}

Affiliations

¹ CEB-Centre of Biological Engineering, University of Minho, Campus de Gualtar, Braga, Portugal.
² LABBELS-Associate Laboratory, Braga, Portugal.
³ Department of Chemical Engineering, Faculty of Science, University of Vigo, Ourense, Spain.

Abstract

Skin indicates a person's state of health and is so important that it influences a person's emotional and psychological behavior. In this context, the effective treatment of wounds is a major concern, since several conventional wound healing materials have not been able to provide adequate healing, often leading to scar formation. Hence, the development of innovative biomaterials for wound healing is essential. Natural and synthetic polymers are used extensively for wound dressings and scaffold production. Both natural and synthetic polymers have beneficial properties and limitations, so they are often used in combination to overcome overcome their individual limitations. The use of different polymers in the production of biomaterials has proven to be a promising alternative for the treatment of wounds, as their capacity to accelerate the healing process has been demonstrated in many studies. Thus, this work focuses on describing several currently commercially available solutions used for the management of skin wounds, such as polymeric biomaterials for skin substitutes. New directions, strategies, and innovative technologies for the design of polymeric biomaterials are also addressed, providing solutions for deep burns, personalized care and faster healing.

Keywords: health; natural materials; polymeric biomaterials; skin regeneration; wound healing.

Publication types

Review

Grants and funding

This research was supported by the Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology (FCT) under the scope of the strategic funding of UIDB/04469/2020 unit, and by LABBELS—Associate Laboratory in Biotechnology, Bioengineering and Microelectromechanical Systems, LA/P/0029/2020. This study was also funded by program Marie Skłodowska-Curie grant (MSCA-RISE; FODIAC; 778388), and by the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) through the Competitiveness factors Operational program—Norte 2020, COMPETE and by National Funds through the FCT—under the project AgriFood XXI (NORTE- 01-0145-FEDER-000041).