Wound pH-Modulating Strategies for Diabetic Wound Healing

Area of Science:

• Wound healing research
• Diabetology
• Biomedical engineering

Background:

• Diabetic foot ulcers (DFU) are a severe diabetes complication impacting quality of life and healthcare costs.
• Current treatments often fail to achieve complete healing in DFU patients.
• Emerging research highlights the significance of wound pH in DFU pathophysiology.

Purpose of the Study:

• To review the role of pH in diabetic wound healing.
• To discuss pH-modulating therapeutic systems for DFU.
• To explore future directions in pH-targeted DFU treatment.

Main Methods:

• Critical review of in vitro, preclinical, and clinical studies on wound pH.
• Analysis of low-molecular-weight and hydrogel-based pH-modulating systems.
• Examination of the molecular mechanisms of pH alterations in diabetic wounds.

Main Results:

• pH plays a crucial role in DFU pathophysiology.
• Topical pH-lowering agents demonstrate potential for DFU treatment and infection control.
• Various pH-modulating systems, including hydrogels, are being developed.

Conclusions:

• Controlling wound bed pH is a promising therapeutic target for accelerating DFU healing.
• Further research in animal models and human clinical trials is necessary to establish safety and efficacy.
• Developing targeted pH profiles for different wound healing stages is a key future direction.