Self-Assembled Hydrogels Promote Wound Healing

Abstract

Wound healing is a crucial highly complex biological process that proceeds through three overlapping stages, inflammation, proliferation, and remodeling. However, the presence of acute or chronic conditions such as infections, burns, and diabetes-related complications often disrupts this sequence, resulting in impaired repair, chronic non-healing wounds, or excessive scarring. Conventional therapeutic approaches typically address a single factor of repair while overlooking the integrated effects of the pathological microenvironment. These limitations underscore the urgent need for new and effective therapeutic strategies. Self-assembled hydrogels have recently attracted considerable attention as promising candidates for wound management. Unlike conventional hydrogels, they spontaneously form three-dimensional networks without external crosslinkers or energy input. And they can possess unique dynamic features, such as reversibility, self-healing, and stimulus responsiveness, which make them well suited to the dynamic wound environments. Importantly, their therapeutic potential extends beyond structural support, as they have demonstrated multifaceted biological activities such as antimicrobial, anti-inflammatory, and antioxidant effects. This review summarizes recent developments in self-assembled hydrogels and their applications in wound healing, to deepen the understanding of their mechanisms of action and underscore their promise as innovative strategies for promoting effective wound repair.