Title:Natural Inorganic Ingredients in Wound Healing
Volume: 26
Issue: 6
Author(s): Fátima García-Villén, Iane M.S. Souza, Raquel de Melo Barbosa, Ana Borrego-Sánchez, Rita Sánchez-Espejo, Santiago Ojeda-Riascos and César V. Iborra*
Affiliation:
- Department of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Technology, University of Granada, Granada,Spain
Keywords:
Skin, wound healing, antimicrobial, inorganic excipients, clay minerals, zeolites, transition metals.
Abstract:
Background: One of the major clinical challenges is to achieve a rapid and efficient treatment of complex
chronic wounds. Nowadays, most wound dressings currently available are unable to find a solution to the
challenges of resistance to bacterial infection, protein adsorption and increased levels of exudates. Natural inorganic
ingredients (clay minerals, metal cations, zeolites, etc.) could be the key to solve the problem satisfactorily.
Some of these materials have shown biocompatibility and ability to enhance cell adhesion, proliferation and cellular
differentiation and uptake. Besides, some natural inorganic ingredients effectively retain drugs, allowing the
design of drug delivery matrices.
Objective: Possibilities of natural inorganic ingredients in wound healing treatments have been reviewed, the
following sections have been included:
1. Introduction
2. Functions of Inorganic Ingredients in wound healing
2.1. Antimicrobial effects
2.2. Hemostatic effects
3. Clay minerals for wound healing
3.1. Clay minerals
3.2. Clay mineral semisolid formulations
3.3. Clay/polymer composites and nanocomposites
3.4. Clay minerals in wound dressings
4. Other inorganic materials for wound healing
4.1. Zeolites
4.2. Silica and other silicates
4.3. Other minerals
4.4. Transition metals
5. Conclusion
Conclusion: Inorganic ingredients possess useful features for the development of chronic wounds advanced
treatments. They improve physical (mechanical resistance and water vapor transmission), chemical (release of
drugs, hemostasis and/or adsorption of exudates and moisture) and biological (antimicrobial effects and improvement
of healing) properties of wound dressings. In summary, inorganic ingredients have proved to be a
promising and easily accessible products in the treatment of wounds and, more importantly, chronic wounds.