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Review
. 2024 Mar 27:12:1309541.
doi: 10.3389/fbioe.2024.1309541. eCollection 2024.

A review of the current state of natural biomaterials in wound healing applications

Mojtaba Ansari  1 , Ahmad Darvishi  1
Affiliations
Review

A review of the current state of natural biomaterials in wound healing applications

Mojtaba Ansari et al. Front Bioeng Biotechnol. .

Abstract

Skin, the largest biological organ, consists of three main parts: the epidermis, dermis, and subcutaneous tissue. Wounds are abnormal wounds in various forms, such as lacerations, burns, chronic wounds, diabetic wounds, acute wounds, and fractures. The wound healing process is dynamic, complex, and lengthy in four stages involving cells, macrophages, and growth factors. Wound dressing refers to a substance that covers the surface of a wound to prevent infection and secondary damage. Biomaterials applied in wound management have advanced significantly. Natural biomaterials are increasingly used due to their advantages including biomimicry of ECM, convenient accessibility, and involvement in native wound healing. However, there are still limitations such as low mechanical properties and expensive extraction methods. Therefore, their combination with synthetic biomaterials and/or adding bioactive agents has become an option for researchers in this field. In the present study, the stages of natural wound healing and the effect of biomaterials on its direction, type, and level will be investigated. Then, different types of polysaccharides and proteins were selected as desirable natural biomaterials, polymers as synthetic biomaterials with variable and suitable properties, and bioactive agents as effective additives. In the following, the structure of selected biomaterials, their extraction and production methods, their participation in wound healing, and quality control techniques of biomaterials-based wound dressings will be discussed.

Keywords: natural biomaterials; skin tissue engineering; synthetic biomaterials; wound dressing; wound healing.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest.

Figures

FIGURE 1
FIGURE 1
Schematic illustration of the requirements for a suitable wound dressing. Created with BioRender.com.
FIGURE 2
FIGURE 2
Schematic illustration of classification and different types of wounds based on sources (A) and depth (B). Created with BioRender.com.
FIGURE 3
FIGURE 3
Schematic illustration of the wound healing process; (A) hemostasis or coagulation, (B) inflammation, (C) proliferation, and (D) regeneration or maturation. Created with BioRender.com.
FIGURE 4
FIGURE 4
Silk panel; (A) sources and chemical structure, (B) Silk/MH-based antibiotic loaded wound dressing. Created with BioRender.com.
FIGURE 5
FIGURE 5
Keratin panel; (A) sources and chemical structure, (B) its role in wound healing process. Created with BioRender.com.
FIGURE 6
FIGURE 6
Schematic illustration of the chemical structure of bacterial cellulose (A) and its application in wound healing (B). Created with BioRender.com.
FIGURE 7
FIGURE 7
Schematic illustration of; (A) HA structure, (B) its role in wound healing and (C) GlcNAc chemical structure. Created with BioRender.com.
FIGURE 8
FIGURE 8
Collagen panel; (A) collagen sources and chemical structure, and (B) gelatin chemical structure. Created with BioRender.com.
FIGURE 9
FIGURE 9
Schematic illustration of the chemical structure of Dextran. Created with BioRender.com.
FIGURE 10
FIGURE 10
Schematic illustration of the sources and chemical structure of (A) Chitin and (B) Chitosan. Created with BioRender.com.
FIGURE 11
FIGURE 11
Schematic illustration of different type of β-glucans and their chemical structures. (A) β-glucan from Oat; (B) β-glucan from Yeast; (C) β-glucan from Fungal; (D) β-glucan from Bacteria. Created with BioRender.com.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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