Diabetic chronic wounds have become a major challenge for clinical treatment due to their complex pathological microenvironment, including persistent inflammatory response, angiogenesis disorder, excessive oxidative stress, and susceptible infection. Traditional dressings as a passive barrier have difficulty meeting the above multiple treatment needs. Electrospinning technology, with its ability to mimic the fibrous network structure of the natural extracellular matrix (ECM), offers a high specific surface area, controllable porosity, and excellent drug-loading capacity, making it an ideal platform for developing a new generation of multifunctional wound dressings. This article provides a systematic review of the research progress on electrospun nanofiber dressings in the treatment of diabetic wounds, focusing on the design evolution from basic single-layer structures to advanced complex structures and elucidating the mechanisms of action and quantifiable effects of each structural type in addressing specific pathological challenges. We also compared the current status of clinical translation for electrospun dressings with that of other advanced wound care platforms and proposed a standardized preclinical evaluation framework. A large number of research data show that these advanced designs can effectively improve the quality of healing. Finally, this paper points out the challenges faced by this field, such as scalable fabrication, in vivo reliability of smart systems, and long-term biosafety, and provides theoretical basis and technical reference for the design of efficient and intelligent electrostatic spinning diabetic wound dressings.
Yu-Qing Dong, Wenbo Wu, Xin-Yu Li et al.· ACS Biomaterials Science & E...· 0 citations
Polymer materials hold great promise for various applications but face trade-offs among stiffness, toughness, stretchability, and scalable fabrication. Here, we report a strategy that integrates dense side-chain hydrogen-bonding motifs capable of conformational transitions into a highly entangled flexible polymer network through photocuring copolymerization of acrylamide-based and hydroxyl-terminated acrylate monomers, enabling the rapid fabrication of stiff, tough, and stretchable polymers. The densely cross-linked structure restricts chain mobility, while hierarchical hydrogen bonds with partially low rotational energy barriers reversibly dissociate under strain, allowing the extensibility of the entangled network and continuous energy dissipation. The resulting polymers exhibit high Young’s modulus (515.0 ± 100.9 megapascals) and yield strength (57.8 ± 1.8 megapascals) while maintaining exceptional toughness (135.7 ± 10.7 megajoules per cubic meter) and fracture strain (400.1 ± 46.1%) and full strain recovery upon heating. These polymers can be fabricated into complex structures via three-dimensional printing and exhibit shape-memory, impact-resistant, and adhesive properties. This work establishes a generalizable strategy for designing high-performance polymer materials through simple photopolymerization.
Yuxuan Qiao, Kai Guo, Dongzhao Hao et al.· Science Advances· 0 citations
The skin serves as the primary barrier against external physical damage and microbial invasion. When the skin is compromised, effective wound management becomes essential for maintaining tissue integrity and preventing complications. Although conventional wound dressings provide basic protection, they often fail to meet the complex and dynamic requirements of different stages of wound healing. Owing to their highly hydrated three-dimensional networks, tunable physicochemical properties, and excellent biocompatibility, hydrogels have emerged as promising platforms for advanced wound care. Recent advances in material engineering have enabled hydrogels to integrate multiple therapeutic functions, including hemostasis, antibacterial activity, immunomodulation, antioxidant regulation, angiogenesis promotion, scar reduction, and controlled drug delivery, thereby facilitating coordinated tissue regeneration. This review summarizes recent advances in hydrogel-based wound dressings, including the biological process of skin wound healing, hydrogel material classification, fabrication and crosslinking strategies, and multifunctional hydrogel design. Particular attention is given to the relationship between hydrogel functions and different stages of wound healing, as well as the advantages and limitations of various hydrogel systems. Finally, current challenges related to mechanical properties, clinical translation, large-animal evaluation, and manufacturing standardization are discussed, together with emerging strategies such as stimulus-responsive hydrogels and programmable therapeutic systems for future wound management.
