Exploring design formulations and properties of chitosan-functionalized metal oxide nanoparticles for wound dressing...

Understanding the chemical structure of chitosan helps researchers design effective wound dressings, which would be beneficial for treating both acute and chronic wounds. Due to the poly-cationic nature of chitosan, it can easily bind to negatively charged surface of any substance. Moreover, chitosan possesses remarkable biological properties such as inherent biodegradability, biocompatibility, and good cyto-compatibility to name a few. All these properties render chitosan an ideal candidate for effective and efficient wound management. Many reviews based on chitosan and in its combination with other materials for wound healing applications might have been published but no comprehensive review based on chitosan/chitosan derivatives and metal oxide nanoparticles in various forms such as films, sponges, hydrogels, etc. for wound dressing applications has not yet been reported elsewhere. But there has been growing interest in leveraging the synergistic effects of chitosan and metal oxides together to enhance both mechanical properties and antimicrobial properties for rapid wound healing. Hence, this review exclusively focuses on recent trends in the development of chitosan nanocomposites coordinated with various metal oxides, such as zinc oxide (ZnO), iron oxide (Fe₃O₄), copper oxide (CuO), and silver oxide (Ag₂O) to name a few to explore their full potential in the management of advanced wound treatment apart from highlighting their future, commercial aspects and mechanisms.