HydrogelsPaper

Smart hydrogel dressings for advanced wound healing: from biomaterial design to microenvironment modulation

Xiaowen Huang, Xingying Chen, Yunqiu Shen, Jie Tang, Nenghua Zhang, Kewei Zhao · Frontiers Media SA · 2026

Smart hydrogel dressings are designed to enhance wound healing by modulating the microenvironment and promoting tissue regeneration.

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Plain English summary

This review discusses the challenges of healing complex wounds like severe burns and diabetic ulcers, which often involve inflammation and infection. It highlights the potential of smart hydrogels, which mimic natural tissue and can be engineered to deliver drugs, fight infection, and support healing processes. The paper also addresses the evolution of hydrogel materials and their multifunctional capabilities.

Why this matters

Advanced wound care is crucial for improving patient outcomes, especially for those with chronic conditions. Smart hydrogels could significantly enhance healing processes, reduce complications, and lower healthcare costs by providing targeted therapies directly at the wound site.

Key findings

  • Smart hydrogels can modulate the wound microenvironment.
  • They can deliver drugs in response to specific stimuli.
  • Hydrogels exhibit antimicrobial and antioxidant properties.
  • They can enhance mechanical properties like self-healing.
  • Challenges in clinical translation include manufacturing and regulatory hurdles.

What's new

The review presents recent innovations in smart hydrogels, including bio-inspired systems and multifunctional capabilities tailored for wound healing.

Limitations

The abstract mentions challenges in clinical translation and does not provide specific examples of successful implementations or studies.

Commercial context

The abstract discusses challenges in clinical translation, indicating that commercial readiness is not established.

Publication

Publisher
Frontiers Media SA
Publication date
June 3, 2026
Research type
Paper
License
https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

Tags

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Method note: Summaries and ratings on this page are generated by AI from the abstract only. Read the original paper for full context. · Model: gpt-4o-mini-2024-07-18