Recent Advancement of Functional Hydrogels toward Diabetic Wound Management

Wound healing is a dynamic, orchestrated process comprising partially overlapping phases of hemostasis, inflammation, proliferation, and remodeling. This programmed process, dysregulated in diabetic individuals, results in chronic diabetic wounds. The normal process of healing halts at the inflammatory stage, and this prolonged inflammatory phase is characteristic of diabetic wounds. There are a few U.S. Food & Drug Administration approved skin substitutes; dermal matrixes are commercially available to manage diabetic wounds. However, expensiveness and nonresponsiveness in a few instances are the major limitations of such modalities. To address the issues, several treatment strategies have been exploited to treat chronic wounds; among them hydrogel-based systems showed promise due to favorable properties such as excellent absorption capabilities, porous structure, tunable mechanical strength, and biocompatibility. In the past two decades, hydrogels have become one of the most acceptable systems in the field of wound dressing material, offering single functionality to multifunctionality. This review focuses on the advancement of functional hydrogels explored for diabetic wound management. The process of diabetic wound healing is discussed in the light of the normal healing process, and the role of macrophages in the process is explained. This review also discusses the different approaches to treat diabetic wounds using functional hydrogels, along with their future opportunities.