The integration of wound treatment and detection based on biological macromolecules

Abstract

Several factors can impede the wound healing process, and the non-healing and formation of chronic wounds pose a threat to patient health and a burden to society. With the discovery of various biomaterials (e.g., hydrogels and nanomaterials), new treatment options have been developed to improve wound healing. Hydrogels and nanomaterials exhibit good biocompatibility and are often used in wound healing as carriers for drug delivery. However, the wound environment during the wound healing process is often complex, making it difficult to achieve precisely controlled drug release. Changes in various wound response factors have been found to control drug release. Therefore, it is important to develop wound response factors as a switch for drug release. This review describes the healing process of wounds and the factors affecting wound healing; materials with self-repairing ability and their application as drug delivery systems for the treatment of wounds; biomarkers that can be used to detect the recovery of wounds; and monitoring of wound healing based on the environmental response to achieve the detection of wound detection and treatment. Lastly, this review highlights the difficulties and future prospects of the integration of wound treatment and detection.