Functional Hydrogels as Wound Dressing to Enhance Wound Healing

Hydrogels, due to their excellent biochemical and mechnical property, have shown attractive advantages in the field of wound dressings. However, a comprehensive review of the functional hydrogel as a wound dressing is still lacking. This work first summarizes the skin wound healing process and relates evaluation parameters and then reviews the advanced functions of hydrogel dressings such as antimicrobial property, adhesion and hemostasis, anti-inflammatory and anti-oxidation, substance delivery, self-healing, stimulus response, conductivity, and the recently emerged wound monitoring feature, and the strategies adopted to achieve these functions are all classified and discussed. Furthermore, applications of hydrogel wound dressing for the treatment of different types of wounds such as incisional wound and the excisional wound are summarized. Chronic wounds are also mentioned, and the focus of attention on infected wounds, burn wounds, and diabetic wounds is discussed. Finally, the future directions of hydrogel wound dressings for wound healing are further proposed.

Automated summary

Hydrogels have shown promising advantages as wound dressings due to their excellent biochemical and mechanical properties. This review summarizes the advanced functions of hydrogel dressings, such as antimicrobial, adhesion, hemostasis, anti-inflammatory, substance delivery, self-healing, stimulus response, and conductivity, as well as the emerging wound monitoring feature. The potential applications for different types of wounds, including chronic wounds and focus on infected, burn, and diabetic wounds, are discussed, along with proposed future directions for hydrogel wound dressings in wound healing.