Biomaterial Design and Immobilization Strategies of Bioactive Hydrogel Dressings for Wound Healing
TL;DR
This review frames bioactive loading as an immobilization process, co‐evaluating matrix chemistry, immobilization technique, and target molecule against wound‐specific demands, and future work building on this mechanism‐based framework may further support multi‐bioactive loading strategies toward clinically applicable, multifunctional dressings.
Abstract
Wound healing is a complex biological process that requires advanced therapeutic strategies, within which bioactive‐loaded polymeric matrices represent a central approach. However, the therapeutic efficiency of wound‐healing biomaterials depends on how effectively bioactive molecules are retained and released from the matrix. Existing reviews largely describe bioactive molecule loading in terms of application outcomes, without explicitly framing it as an immobilization process governed by distinct chemical and physical mechanisms. The novelty of this review lies in framing bioactive loading as an immobilization process, co‐evaluating matrix chemistry, immobilization technique, and target molecule against wound‐specific demands. Immobilized molecules are further incorporated into multifunctional biomaterials of natural, synthetic, or hybrid composition, with applications assessed across acute, chronic, and infected wounds according to their distinct healing biology. Entrapment‐ and encapsulation‐based immobilization has shown promising outcomes in full‐thickness, burn, infected, and pressure ulcer wounds, with particular prevalence in the diabetic wound literature. Limitations in clinical translation are addressed, including batch‐to‐batch reproducibility, scale‐up challenges, and the lack of standardized characterization for multi‐component dressings. Future work building on this mechanism‐based framework may further support multi‐bioactive loading strategies toward clinically applicable, multifunctional dressings.