Recent advancements in bioadhesive self-healing hydrogels for effective chronic wound care
Parinaz Nezhad‐Mokhtari, Masoud Hasany, Mohammad Kohestanian, Alireza Dolatshahi‐Pirouz, Morteza Milani, Mehdi Mehrali
Abstract
Chronic wounds are a critical and costly complication that affects millions of patients each year, especially patients suffering from diabetes, and constitute a serious global healthcare problem that needs immediate attention. In this direction, novel dressings that can integrate appropriate physicochemical and biological features, mechanical durability, and the capacity for therapy are of great clinical importance. For instance, self-healable hydrogels, with antibacterial activity and high tissue adhesion, have attracted increasing attention for wound management applications. Despite their potential, existing self-healable hydrogel networks exhibit limitations in mechanical strength and adhesion, tissue regeneration, antibacterial efficacy, and scalability, indicating a need for further improvement in the field. This review focuses on exactly these recent advances in the field with a special focus on self-healing adhesive hydrogel-based wound dressings as well as their structures, construction strategies, adhesion mechanisms, and emerging usage in the wound healing field. By shedding light on these developments, we aim to contribute to the ongoing pursuit of enhanced solutions for chronic wound care. • Discussed overcoming limitations of existing hydrogel networks for advanced wound management. • Highlighting advancements in adhesion and self-healing mechanisms for wound healing. • Rational design and fabrication of bioadhesive self-healing hydrogel for enhanced wound healing are described. • Discussed mechanical strength, adhesion, tissue regeneration, antibacterial efficacy, and scalability. • Shedding light on bioadhesive self-healing hydrogels for advanced wound management.