Controlled Delivery of Bioactive Molecules for the Treatment of Chronic Wounds

A cut or break on the surface of the skin is usually referred to as a wound. Any wound has a potential to heal by itself through a complex cascade of events. However, some wounds show delayed healing due to their underlying physiology and are referred to as chronic wounds like diabetic ulcers, venous ulcers, pressure ulcers and chronic infected ulcers. Extensive care has to be taken for the management of chronic wounds and these have become a major concern in the current medical scenario. The use of bioactive molecules or in other words the molecules that can actively interact with the wound environment and help in wound healing are gaining much importance. The incorporation of bioactive molecules into a suitable matrix system which not only provide a controlled release of the molecules, but also enable better exudate management is desired to overcome the shortcomings of the conventional treatment modalities. A major problem associated with chronic wounds is that they are easily prone to infections. In such cases, the topical delivery of antibiotics helps eliminate infection. However, the continuous use of high dose of antibiotics has led to the development of multi drug resistant bacterial strains. To overcome these issues, other broad-spectrum antimicrobial agents like antiseptics, metallic nanoparticles and antimicrobial peptides are being adopted nowadays. Growth factors play a major role in the wound healing cascade, thus topical delivery of growth factor from a suitable matrix is an interesting strategy. The delivery of nucleic acids with the aid of suitable vectors for either silencing a particular gene or over expressing a gene of interest is also being investigated nowadays. This review is an attempt to draw light over some of the recent approaches adopted for the treatment of chronic wounds using bioactive molecules like antibiotics, antiseptics, metallic nanoparticles or ions, growth factors and nucleic acids.