Multifunctional Biomaterial Matrix for Advanced Wound Healing.

BACKGROUND: Modern wound dressings provide a moist healing environment and facilitate faster and higher quality of healing. A new semi-interpenetrating network (sIPN) biomaterial platform based on poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG) and gelatin was developed as a multi-functional matrix for wound care. THE PROBLEM: Besides providing a moist environment and facilitating the healing process, advanced wound dressings may be designed to serve as delivery matrices for drugs and therapeutic cells. New and effective treatments should also comply with clinical settings and be easy to use. No single treatment exists today that can fulfill all these requirements; however, advancement in multifunctional biomaterial design and development holds promise to fill this technology gap. BASIC/CLINICAL SCIENCE ADVANCES: PEG + gelatin sIPN provides an ideal platform for fundamental research in cell-cell and cell-biomaterial interaction that is important in wound healing. The in situ forming ability of sIPN facilitates its use in large and irregular wounds with complex contours and crevices. CLINICAL CARE RELEVANCE: Although various commercially available wound dressings have been produced, a low-cost, easy-to-use, and biofunctionalizable biomaterial that provides a moist environment and facilitates healing is still a target of active tissue regeneration research.
CONCLUSION: Extensive preclinical data support the use of in situ polymerized sIPN in advanced wound care.