Therapeutic Potential of Chitosan-Based and Related Nanocomposite Systems in Wound Management: A Review

Chronic wounds, particularly those associated with diabetes, persist as a significant clinical challenge due to prolonged or incomplete healing, elevated infection rates, and the ensuing risk of lower-limb amputation. This review summarises recent advances in biomaterials for wound healing, focusing on chitosan-based systems modified with metal nanoparticles and polyphenols. The text emphasises the pivotal function of nanotechnology in facilitating targeted delivery and synergistic bioactivity. The present study places particular emphasis on the synergistic use of chitosan and polyphenols in drug delivery systems and next-generation wound dressings. This combination successfully overcomes the key limitations of their individual use, such as the poor solubility of polyphenols and the limited stability of chitosan. The encapsulation of polyphenols within the nanostructures of chitosan is a process enabled by nanotechnology. This process has been shown to enhance the bioavailability of the polyphenols, to allow for controlled release, and to improve their biological performance. This review methodically synthesises the extant experimental evidence demonstrating that these multifunctional systems exhibit regenerative, antioxidant, and antimicrobial properties that may support selected biological processes relevant to wound repair. The promotion of angiogenesis, fibroblast growth, and epithelial regeneration is accompanied by a reduction in infection-related complications. Whilst the majority of the studies under review are of a preclinical nature, the body of evidence suggests that further enhancement and quantitative evaluation of these systems has the potential to pave the way for clinically relevant therapies for chronic and diabetic wounds.