Polysaccharide based biomaterials for advanced wound healing applications.
Healing a wound is a complex biological process involving hemostasis, inflammation, cell proliferation, and tissue remodeling. Ad interim, polysaccharide based biomaterials have also attracted significant attention in wound healing due to their intrinsic biocompatibility, biodegradability and structural versatility, and ability to actively modulate the wound microenvironment. This review focuses on key polysaccharides, including alginate, chitosan and hyaluronic acid and discusses their roles across different stages of wound healing by correlating material structure with biological performance. The relationship between material structure and biological performance is discussed to understand their therapeutic effects. Recent advances in hybrid biomaterials, ion-coordination strategies, and stimuli-responsive dressings are highlighted for their roles in enhancing antimicrobial activity, promoting angiogenesis, and enabling controlled therapeutic delivery. Special emphasis is also placed on the emerging role of polysaccharide-based biomaterials in combating chronic wound-associated biofilms through disruption of the extracellular polymeric substance matrix, modulation of quorum-sensing pathways, and localized antimicrobial delivery. These multifunctional approaches improve infection control while simultaneously supporting tissue regeneration, thereby addressing one of the principal challenges associated with chronic wound management. The purpose of this review is to look at the impact of the use of these materials on the environment, specifically by looking at both their biodegradability and lessening of our dependency on synthetic polymers, as well as presenting an integrated design framework that links the composition, physicochemical characteristics, and biological demands of biomaterials within a time-based context to provide a rational approach for developing future wound dressings. Despite promising progress, challenges related to reproducibility, scalability, and clinical translation remain significant, underscoring the need for standardized evaluation and interdisciplinary approaches.