A novel breakthrough in biomedical nanoparticle research was stated in the journal Plants about African medicinal herbs and biogenic nanoparticles that are utilized to aid wound healing via a variety of processes.
Study: Wound Healing Activities and Potential of Selected African Medicinal Plants and Their Synthesized Biogenic Nanoparticles. Image Credit: Romolo Tavani/Shutterstock.com
Wounds are described as damage to living tissue that disrupts its normal anatomical structure and function. They develop as a result of tissue damage caused by physical, chemical, thermal, microbiological, or immunological factors.
The damage can compromise the skin's epithelial surface and spread into the surrounding tissues, disturbing other systems such as ligaments, muscles, and nerves.
Chronic wounds develop when wounds fail to heal properly and claim the lives of countless people around the world. Over the last decade, it has been reported that 6 million individuals globally have suffered from chronic wounds.
Antimicrobial Resistance in Wound Healing
Chronic wounds take a long time to cure and do not go through the regular stages of wound healing. Wounds could also be classed as open (those that cause disruption and discontinuities in the epidermis) or closed (those that do not cause disruption and discontinuities in the epidermis).
Because the bottom tissues are vulnerable to the outside surroundings, most open wounds are frequently associated with a broad variety of bacterial and fungal diseases.
The problem of antimicrobial resistance in treating these infections adds to the complexities and burden of such wounds. Repetitive injury, prevalent in diabetic foot ulcers, can significantly slow or halt wound healing.
Traditional Healing of Wound Care
Topical treatments are the first line of wound care. If recovery is not accomplished after an examination, advanced wound therapies are utilized.
Negative pressure wound therapy, growth factor injection, hyperbaric oxygenation, and skin grafts are the most prevalent advanced wound treatments.
Because these therapies are quite expensive, particularly in low-income nations, they are not always accessible. Therapies can also be linked to serious consequences such bleeding, infection, previously suffered, and oncogenesis.
Nanomaterials derived from medicinal plants have also been demonstrated to aid wound healing.
Nanoparticles in Wound Treatment
To increase the action of medicinal plants, such treatment techniques have been merged into the realm of nanotechnology.
Wound treatments using silver, for example, have such a long history of usage in the treatment of acute and chronic wounds. Alternative nanoparticles used to aid wound healing include gold, zinc oxide, and selenium.
Nanotechnology has made significant contributions to the development of improved approaches for illness diagnosis and therapies. The distinctive properties of manufactured nanoparticles, such as their enormous surface area to volume ratio, enable them to bind and distribute small-sized beneficial chemicals to specific areas.
The capacity of biogenic nanoparticles to mix with bioactive pharmaceuticals and other beneficial substances might result in a synergistic impact, enhancing their efficiency and efficacy even more.
Benefit in Developing New Nanotechnology Treatment
In the development of new therapeutic treatments, modern technologies should now focus primarily on the cellular and molecular elements of wound healing.
Given that silver nanoparticle-coated wound dressings are gradually becoming commonplace in wound and burn care, it is critical to harness the full potential of nanomedicine.
Nanoparticles synthesis utilizing known medicinal plants, as opposed to standard physio-chemical procedures, is a non-toxic strategy in the manufacturing of biocompatible nanoparticles.
It is also inexpensive, making it possible for low-income countries to use these tactics to develop therapeutic approaches.
Further Research in Wound Treatment Nanoparticles
Green nanotechnology still has many raw materials to be discovered on the African continent. As a result, the innovation of modern nanomaterials with exceptional wound healing activity, as well as a better understanding of the underlying mechanisms their therapeutic qualities, is critical for future research.
Continue reading: NANO-LLPO: Using Nanomaterials to Heal Wounds.
Reference
Tyavambiza, C., et al. (2021). Wound Healing Activities and Potential of Selected African Medicinal Plants and Their Synthesized Biogenic Nanoparticles. Plants 2021, 10(12), 2635; Published: 30 November 2021. Available at: https://www.mdpi.com/2223-7747/10/12/2635/htm
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