Biologics, or biological medical products, are the treatment products that are produced from living cells or organisms. The improvement in the technology of wound care has resulted in the arrival of biotechnology in wound care.
Wound healing is a complicated procedure that comprises the dynamic interplay of different mediators like growth factors, cellular & extracellular components, and matrix metalloproteinases. Wound care biotechnology targets these aspects that are affected in chronic wounds. Some major wound care biological products are:
Skin Substitutes
Skin substitutes are tissue-engineered products employed to manage chronic non-healing wounds. These products can be utilized to either temporarily or permanently cover the wound bed. Skin substitutes are classified into either cellular and acellular products.
Cellular products are composed of living cells comprised inside a matrix, whereas acellular products are produced from human cadavers.
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Cell-based Therapies
The cells in the body are continuously substituted and replenished by stem cells. These cells possess exceptional posibilities in wound care because of their regenerative capacity. Adult stem cells are transplanted to the wound location either as allogeneic or autologous grafts.
Cell-based therapy focuses on making the wound bed more helpful to healing. The cells that are presently being employed in clinical settings include fibroblasts, keratinocytes, and adipose-derived stromal cells.
Growth Factors
Growth factors play an important role in wound healing. The developments in biotechnology have enabled the application and synthesis of exogenic growth factors for wound healing.
Examples of exogenous growth factors are recombinant human epidermal growth factor (rh EGF) and keratinocyte growth factor (KGF). Though, it is important to acknowledge that growth factors only function well in a properly equipped wound bed.
Scaffolds
Bioartificial scaffolds are formed of components existing in the skin extracellular matrix. These tissue-engineered scaffolds integrate laminin, collagen, fibronectin, hyaluronic acid, and endothelial progenitor cells. Scaffolds, unlike conventional wound dressings, have intrinsic world-healing properties.
Usage Of Biologics
Biologics are gradually becoming very common in wound care. Some major usages of biological materials in wound care are:
Film dressings: Films formed from naturally attained polymers are biodegradable. Additionally, they can also be employed for the delivery of small molecules, growth factors, as well as various other therapeutic medicines.
Hydrogels: Hydrogels are 3D structures composed of different polysaccharides. They can imbibe substantial amounts of water which makes them suitable to preserve a moist wound environment. Because of their biocompatibility, naturally attained polymers are increasingly utilized in the production procedure of hydrogels.
Nanofiber-based dressings: Nanofiber-based dressings possess structural resemblances to extracellular matrices. Synthetic and natural biomaterials are employed to produce nanofibers with the electrospinning method.
In addition, nanofiber-based dressings are becoming more popular in wound care because of their protection from bacterial infection as well as effective exudate management.
Wrapping Up
With the increasing cases of burns & accidents, as well as the rising occurrence of chronic wounds, the wound care biologics industry will continue to grow in the coming years.