The morbidity, mortality,
and burden of burn victims and patients
with severe diabetic wounds are still high, which leads to an extensively
growing demand for novel treatments with high clinical efficacy. Biomaterial-based
wound treatment approaches have progressed over time from simple cotton
wool dressings to advanced skin substitutes containing cells and growth
factors; however, no wound care approach is yet completely satisfying.
Bioactive glasses are materials with potential in many areas that
exhibit unique features in biomedical applications. Today, bioactive
glasses are not only amorphous solid structures that can be used as
a substitute in hard tissue but also are promising materials for soft
tissue regeneration and wound healing applications. Biologically active
elements such as Ag, B, Ca, Ce, Co, Cu, Ga, Mg, Se, Sr, and Zn can
be incorporated in glass networks; hence, the superiority of these
multifunctional materials over current materials results from their
ability to release multiple therapeutic ions in the wound environment,
which target different stages of the wound healing process. Bioactive
glasses and their dissolution products have high potency for inducing
angiogenesis and exerting several biological impacts on cell functions,
which are involved in wound healing and some other features that are
valuable in wound healing applications, namely hemostatic and antibacterial
properties. In this review, we focus on skin structure, the dynamic
process of wound healing in injured skin, and existing wound care
approaches. The basic concepts of bioactive glasses are reviewed to
better understand the relationship between glass structure and its
properties. We illustrate the active role of bioactive glasses in
wound repair and regeneration. Finally, research studies that have
used bioactive glasses in wound healing applications are summarized
and the future trends in this field are elaborated.