Abstract

Conventional dressings are cost-effective and highly absorbent, but not effectual enough to promote hemostasis, adherence and in holding a moist wound bed. Thanks to the developments in the field of nanotechnology and bioengineering, one of the promising current trends is to move progress of innovative wound dressings, merging the application of traditional healing agents and modern products/ practices, such as hydrocolloids, hydrogels, films and nanofibers.

This review surveys on potentials of electrospun nanofibrous mats for wound dressing applications. Furthermore, loading of bioactive molecules and therapeutic agents into the nanofibrous mats especially natural compounds with the aim of fabrication novel bioactive electrospun nanofibrous mats for skin substitutes and wound dressings are discussed.

Systematic literature search was conducted to review all recent progress toward the potential of natural substances incorporated with electrospun nanofibrous scaffolds for wound dressing applications.

The electrospun nanofibers webs can provide the essential parameters require for wound dressing to heal wounds including absorptivity, oxygen permeability, and non-adherence to the healing tissue, barrier to bacteria, bioactivity and occlusivity. The modern wound dressings materials made of electrospun nanofibers contain various traditional healing agents such as plant derived compounds could be beneficial to the healing of wounds. Natural substances have been used in skin wound care for many years because of their therapeutic properties, including antimicrobial, antioxidant, anti-inflammatory and mitogenic activities.

A screening of natural substances with plant or animal sources having high wound healer activities and cooperating with electrospun nanofiber are an important step toward producing innovative bioactive wound dressings.

Keywords: Bioactive molecule, electrospinning, hydrogel, nanofibrous scaffold, natural substance, wound dressing.

Graphical Abstract