Recent Advances in Using Natural Antibacterial Additives in Bioactive Wound Dressings

Abstract

Wound care is a global health issue with a financial burden of up to US $96.8 billion annually in the USA alone. Chronic non-healing wounds which show delayed and incomplete healing are especially problematic. Although there are more than 3000 dressing types in the wound management market, new developments in more efficient wound dressings will require innovative approaches such as embedding antibacterial additives into wound-dressing materials. The lack of novel antibacterial agents and the misuse of current antibiotics have caused an increase in antimicrobial resistance (AMR) which is estimated to cause 10 million deaths by 2050 worldwide. These ongoing challenges clearly indicate an urgent need for developing new antibacterial additives in wound dressings targeting microbial pathogens. Natural products and their derivatives have long been a significant source of pharmaceuticals against AMR. Scrutinising the data of newly approved drugs has identified plants as one of the biggest and most important sources in the development of novel antibacterial drugs. Some of the plant-based antibacterial additives, such as essential oils and plant extracts, have been previously used in wound dressings; however, there is another source of plant-derived antibacterial additives, i.e., those produced by symbiotic endophytic fungi, that show great potential in wound dressing applications. Endophytes represent a novel, natural, and sustainable source of bioactive compounds for therapeutic applications, including as efficient antibacterial additives for chronic wound dressings. This review examines and appraises recent developments in bioactive wound dressings that incorporate natural products as antibacterial agents as well as advances in endophyte research that show great potential in treating chronic wounds.

Keywords: antibacterial additives; endophytic fungi; natural products; polymer wound dressing.

Figure 1

Distribution of the wound infections by: (a) the Gram-negative bacteria and (b) the Gram-positive bacteria.

Figure 2

Synthesis scheme of polyvinyl alcohol/starch hydrogel membranes.

Figure 3

Preparation technique of alginate hydrocolloids using hot melt coating.

Figure 4

Preparation scheme of chitosan-based bioactive foams.

Figure 5

Preparation process of Aloe vera-containing alginate films.

Figure 6

Process scheme of dermal patches containing natural additives.

Figure 7

Preparation technique of CeO2-PM oil-PEO/GO nanofibrous mats.

Figure 8

Preparation scheme of essential oil-based polycaprolactone membranes.

Figure 9

Preparation steps of chitosan/essential oil nanoparticles.

Figure 10

Essential oils processing units.

Figure 11

Extraction process of antibacterial compounds from endophytes.