Nanofibrous Scaffolds for Diabetic Wound Healing

Abstract

Chronic wounds are one of the secondary health complications that develop in individuals who have poorly managed diabetes mellitus. This is often associated with delays in the wound healing process, resulting from long-term uncontrolled blood glucose levels. As such, an appropriate therapeutic approach would be maintaining blood glucose concentration within normal ranges, but this can be quite challenging to achieve. Consequently, diabetic ulcers usually require special medical care to prevent complications such as sepsis, amputation, and deformities, which often develop in these patients. Although several conventional wound dressings, such as hydrogels, gauze, films, and foams, are employed in the treatment of such chronic wounds, nanofibrous scaffolds have gained the attention of researchers because of their flexibility, ability to load a variety of bioactive compounds as single entities or combinations, and large surface area to volume ratio, which provides a biomimetic environment for cell proliferation relative to conventional dressings. Here, we present the current trends on the versatility of nanofibrous scaffolds as novel platforms for the incorporation of bioactive agents suitable for the enhancement of diabetic wound healing.

Gelatin-based biomaterials and gelatin as an additive for chronic wound repair

“…Neutrophils are the first inflammatory cells to appear around the wound ( Almadani et al, 2021 ). Inflammatory cells release inflammatory factors while engulfing necrotic material around the wound, causing the wound to swell, redness, warmth, and pain ( Yusuf Aliyu and Adeleke, 2023 ). The inflammatory response is designed to build an immune barrier against bacteria entering the wound ( Strodtbeck, 2001 ).…”

Nanofibrous scaffolds for the healing of the fibrocartilaginous enthesis: advances and prospects

“…5,8 When a sudden load is applied in the direction of muscle stress, the tensile performance of the tendon end is better than that of the bone end. 30…”

“…The materials most commonly used for nanofibrous scaffolds are polymers, which can be classified as natural or synthetic polymers according to their source. 30,95 Natural polymers include fibroin, gelatin, collagen, and chitosan, which have excellent biocompatibility and biodegradability in common, and are conducive to cell proliferation, adhesion, and differentiation. 34 However, natural polymers have poor mechanical properties and often need to be used with synthetic polymers.…”

“…Its large surface area-to-volume ratio can effectively promote cell adhesion, proliferation, differentiation, and drug loading. 29,30 In recent years, nanofibrous scaffolds have been widely used in the field of tissue engineering. 31–36 The morphology of nanofibrous scaffolds is easy to adjust, as it appears that simulating the composition and structure of fibrocartilaginous enthesis is more beneficial to its regeneration and improving the mechanical properties of tissues.…”

Piezoelectric-based bioactive zinc oxide-cellulose acetate electrospun mats for efficient wound healing: an in vitro insight

“…In recent years, significant advancements have been made in developing bioactive wound dressing materials to improve efficiency ( 1 , 2 ). While a wide range of wound dressing materials is available, from simple sutures to complex cell-loaded hydrogels, most primarily facilitate passive wound healing processes, lacking active engagement in endogenous cellular crosstalk ( 3 ). Thus, there is a growing need for bioactive dressing materials that possess the advantages of conventional dressings and actively participate in the tissue healing process.…”