Regenerative Biomaterials with Plant Derivatives for Skin Wound Therapy

A special issue of Pharmaceutics (ISSN 1999-4923). This special issue belongs to the section "Drug Targeting and Design".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 30 September 2025 | Viewed by 1860

Special Issue Editors


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Guest Editor
Innovation Center of Faculty of Technology and Metallurgy, University of Belgrade, Belgrade, Serbia
Interests: biomaterials; hydrogels; biopolymers; controlled delivery systems; tissue engineering; scaffolds; wound dressings; skin regeneration; wound healing
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Guest Editor
Department of Science, University of Basilicata, Viale dell’Ateneo Lucano 10, 85100 Potenza, Italy
Interests: drug delivery systems; antioxidants; cosmetic products; cosmetic formulations; nanomaterials and nanotechnologies; natural products; herbal medicine; antioxidant and radical scavenging; analytical chemistry; chromatography-mass spectrometry; bioactive compounds and natural extracts
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Skin represents the interface between the entire human body and its surrounding environment, and as such it has a crucial role to shield the inner functioning of the body from harmful external factors. Because of the harmful influences of the environment, various disruptions in the form of dehydration, aged skin, inflammation, burns, post-surgical scars, and acute or chronic wounds may occur. Like most human organs, skin also has the ability to self-repair, but due to the dominance of harmful external influences, frequently this is not enough. Thus, the need for the efficient treatment of damaged skin tissue becomes a crucial demand. Advanced biomaterials aimed for use in regenerative medicine are innovative concepts based on multidisciplinary approaches with multi-functional therapeutic effects. Their remarkable capacity to enhance and promote skin tissue regeneration and restoration lies in the synergistic activities of constituents that biomaterials are fabricated from, as well as their unique structures. The diversity of regenerative biomaterials includes a variety of forms (hydrogels, hydrocolloids, films, composites, etc.), compositions based on natural/synthetic components, and a wide range of therapeutic compounds that can be incorporated (bioactive agents, molecules, cells, etc.). Due to increased interest in recent years, we are facing a rapid development in novel biomaterials aimed at use in skin regeneration, especially for wound healing treatment, the most challenging of all skin disorders.

This Special Issue will be focused on innovative therapeutic approaches for the regeneration of different types of skin wounds using advanced biomaterials containing plant derivatives. Since ancient times, plants and their derivatives have been recognized by their strong therapeutic capacity due to a plethora of bioactive phytochemicals, including polyphenols, terpenoids, flavonoids, saponins, tannins, carotenoids, etc. These plant derivatives have the capacity for antimicrobial, anti-inflammatory, and antioxidant action, and as a result possess great potential to actively promote each stage of the wound healing process, from hemostasis, inflammation, and proliferation to the remodeling and final restoration of damaged skin tissue. The synergetic activity of specifically tailored biomaterials and carefully selected plant derivatives can significantly enhance the regeneration of skin tissue.

This Special Issue will publish original experimental research, reviews, and preclinical observations regarding the development of novel regenerative biomaterials with plant derivatives in skin wound therapy.

Dr. Jovana S. Vuković
Dr. Antonio Vassallo
Guest Editors

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Keywords

  • biomaterials
  • plant derivatives
  • skin regeneration
  • wound healing
  • controlled delivery systems
  • biocompatibility
  • bioactivity

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Published Papers (2 papers)

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Research

21 pages, 89808 KiB  
Article
Toward Natural Wound Healing Therapy: Honey and Calendula officinalis Loaded κ-Carrageenan Films with Promising Hemostatic Potential
by Jovana S. Vuković, Srđan Perišić, Anja Nikolić, Ivan Milošević, Milorad Mirilović, Bogomir Bolka Prokić and Tijana Lužajić Božinovski
Pharmaceutics 2025, 17(5), 578; https://doi.org/10.3390/pharmaceutics17050578 - 28 Apr 2025
Viewed by 605
Abstract
Background/Objectives: Efficient wound treatment embraces the management of four overlapping phases, starting with hemostasis, an immediate physiological response aimed at stopping bleeding from damaged blood vessels caused by skin injury. This paper proposes an innovative, nature-based hemostatic biomaterial designed to assist natural [...] Read more.
Background/Objectives: Efficient wound treatment embraces the management of four overlapping phases, starting with hemostasis, an immediate physiological response aimed at stopping bleeding from damaged blood vessels caused by skin injury. This paper proposes an innovative, nature-based hemostatic biomaterial designed to assist natural self-healing regenerative mechanisms. Methods: Light, transparent, and skin-adhesive films based on κ-carrageenan, meadow polyfloral honey, and Calendula officinalis flower extract were fabricated via solution casting. Comprehensive characterization revealed the physicochemical, structural, swelling, and barrier properties and the influence of each bioactive compound utilized for film preparation. Results: The samples subcutaneously implanted in Wistar rats induced vascularization, deposition of collagen, and orientation of collagen fibers while being fully phagocytosed and gradually biodegraded. The rat tail-cut model demonstrated that the films significantly reduced blood loss (0.1875 ± 0.0732 g) compared to the control (0.7837 ± 0.3319 g), and hemostasis was achieved notably faster (355.75 ± 71.42 s) than in the control group (704.25 ± 85.29 s). The rat liver punch biopsy model confirmed reduced blood loss (2.8025 ± 1.5174 g) and shorter time to hemostasis (303.25 ± 77.90 s) compared to the control (3.1475 ± 1.5413 g, 383.00 ± 36.53 s). Conclusions: The results indicate the great potential of the fabricated films as hemostatic wound dressings. Full article
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16 pages, 4473 KiB  
Article
Topical Administration of Vitamin D2 Combined with Colloidal Silver Nanoparticles Promotes Wound Repair and Protection Against Skin Irritation and UVB Irradiation in 3D Reconstructed Human Skin Models
by Francesca Truzzi, Camilla Tibaldi, Silvia Dilloo, Annalisa Saltari, Mitchell P. Levesque, Fabio Arcangeli, Alfredo Garzi, Giuseppe Ruggiero and Giovanni Dinelli
Pharmaceutics 2025, 17(4), 472; https://doi.org/10.3390/pharmaceutics17040472 - 4 Apr 2025
Viewed by 519
Abstract
Background/Objectives: There is a great demand for novel, multipurpose, natural skin-care products in the global skin repair and sun protection markets. Within this framework, the potential benefits of topical Vitamin D2 (VD2) administration in combination with silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) were examined. Methods [...] Read more.
Background/Objectives: There is a great demand for novel, multipurpose, natural skin-care products in the global skin repair and sun protection markets. Within this framework, the potential benefits of topical Vitamin D2 (VD2) administration in combination with silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) were examined. Methods: Evaluating the efficacy of the VD2+AgNP cream in wound healing, skin irritation and UVB irradiation protection necessitated preclinical testing using reconstructed human skin equivalent models (prepared from human foreskins) containing both a fully stratified epidermal layer and underlying dermis. Results: Application of the cream significantly improved wound healing by stimulating keratinocyte re-epithelialization and dermal fibroblast migration in models subjected to full-thickness (scratch and biopsy punch) wounds, compared to untreated models. The VD2+AgNP cream, administered prior to the induction of skin irritation by 5% sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS) afforded protection by ameliorating cell viability epidermal thickness and interleukin-1alpha levels. UVB exposure (50 mJ/cm2) significantly reduced cell viability and epidermal thickness (associated with increased epidermal breakage), as well as basal layer Ki67 and supra-basal layer involucrin expression, compared to the CTRL sham-irradiated models. The cream administered prior to UVB irradiation (protective capacity) showed greater efficacy in minimizing epidermal damage. This was reflected by significantly higher Ki67 and involucrin expression, as well as lower epidermal breakage, compared to models where the cream was applied following UVB irradiation (curative capacity). Conclusions: The VD2+AgNP cream shows multipurpose potential in skin protection. The underlying molecular mechanisms remain to be investigated. Full article
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