Cellulose-based smart dressing materials for in situ sensing, and enhanced wound management

The skin is a robust, primary protective layer that can be disrupted by trauma, burns, or disease conditions, which can significantly affect the quality of life. Conventional wound dressings are more passive, with lesser adaptability to the dynamic wound, often requiring frequent replacement, which may further damage the regenerating tissue and delay healing. In response, smart wound dressings based on biomaterials have emerged as promising alternatives. Among these, cellulose-based smart dressing materials are gaining significant attention due to their intrinsic biocompatibility, biodegradability, mechanical stability, and high surface chemistry that enables versatile functionalization. Cellulose-derived materials can be engineered to evaluate a wound state to a smart wound dressing that offers real-time monitoring and diagnosis of wound conditions. The integration of biomarkers into cellulose-based smart dressings enables a theranostic approach to evaluate wound healing. Despite rapid progress, the current literature often emphasizes the functions of cellulose-based wound healing materials, which limits a comprehensive understanding of multifunctional smart wound care systems. This Review critically summarizes recent advances in cellulose-based smart wound dressings, with a focus on material design, surface modification strategies, stimulus-responsive mechanisms, and clinical relevance. Current challenges and future opportunities for translation are also discussed, aiming to guide the development of next-generation cellulose-enabled platforms for intelligent and precision wound management.