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Nanomedicine Delivery for the Healing of Cancer Wounds

Biopolymer-based nano drug delivery systems are an emerging and promising strategy for addressing the challenges of cancer treatment and wound healing. These natural nanocarriers like alginate, chitosan, gelatin, and hyaluronic acid.
Dr. Ramendra Pati Pandey Jul 02, 2025

Cancer diseases are among the biggest and prevalent issues facing modern medicine, with implications for society and the economy. Additionally, they are the primary cause of death in developed nations. The two most popular methods of treating malignant neoplasms are chemotherapy and radiotherapy. Their side effect are therefore a serious problem and significant obstacle for contemporary oncology. Skin homeostasis issues are among the most significant side effects of chemotherapy and radiation therapy [1]. Chronic wounds may develop as a result of surgery itself, or adjuvant therapies like chemotherapy and radiotherapy. Both chemotherapy and radiotherapy are adjuvant treatments that have a number of systemic side effects, such as skin disruptions. Oncological patients experience tissue loss and a continuous search for an effective healing treatment. Biomaterials, growth factors, tissue engineering products derived from in vitro cultured allogenic or autologous cells, and traditional dressings are some of the intriguing techniques [2]. These days, there is increased interest in the application of nanomaterials in the pharmaceutical industry, particularly in drug delivery systems(DDS) [3]. DDS based nanotechnology is a new multidisciplinary program in the biomedical field that addresses issues like drug side effects, plasma inconsistency, therapeutic potency, poor intestinal absorption mechanism through degradation and bioavailability due to reduced solubility [4]. The aim of this chapter address the dual challenges of cancer treatment and wound healing by focusing on biopolymer based nano drug delivery systems which can be optimized to enhance the cancer treatment and wound tissue regeneration.

Biopolymer: Properties and Applications

Biopolymers are a broad and incredibly adaptable class of chemicals that are either manufactured from biological sources or produced by organisms. Biopolymers are made up of identical repeating units named monomers that are linked together [5]. Diverse natural and synthetic biomaterials, biodegradable and non-degradable, are explored as drug delivery for tissue engineering with medical applications. The key features of biopolymers are biocompatibility, biodegradability, and antibacterial activity. There is a lot of similarity in chemical structures and composition of the macromolecules of the natural extracellular environment [6,7,8].

 

Chitosan

One of- well-known polysaccharides that is natural in origin and a chitin byproduct is chitosan. copolymers Glucosamine and N-acetyle-glucosamine linked by β-1,4-glycosidic bonds [9]. The research utilized solid lipid nanoparticles (SLN) loaded with all-trans retinoic acid (ATRA) and wrapped in chitosan film. Under the controlled conditions, the medications are released by chitinosan film, and the SLN-ATRA accelerated wound closure by minimizing scarring, collagen deposition is boosted, and lowering the leucocyte infiltration in the wound area. Chitosan-encased SLN-ATRA is a suitable option for the treatment of diabetic wounds and promoting wound tissue recovery [10]. Chitosan is known for its antibacterial and antibiofilm properties, which were studied. A chitosan film release nitric oxide (NO) (CS/NO film) was formed. The result depicted that NO was released from simulated wound fluid for 72 hours. Furthermore, CS/NO represented more enhanced antibiofilm activity and substantially increased the antimicrobial action against MRSA and decreased bacterial viability. CS/NO film surged the elimination of biofilms, minimized wound size, and encouraged collagen deposition and epithelialization. Hence, it can be used in the future to cure infected wounds [11].
 

Alginate

It is also known as alginic acid, an anionic polymer which is widely distributed in the cell walls of brown algae, particularly in Ascophyllum and Laminaria species. They are produced by copolymerizing d-mannuronic acid and I-guluronic acid. [9]. They are unbranched linear polysaccharides that include distinct amounts of (1→4)-linked β-d mannuronic acid and α-I-guluronic acid residues. These are unbranched linear polysaccharides that can be connected to other physiologically active molecules, having tractable porosity and are biodegradable [12]. Hydrogels dominating role in wound closure was demonstrated by the full healing of the PVA/alginate hydrogel wrapping the new tea polyphenol nanospheres (TPN) after 5 days of injury. The PI3K/AKT pathway is triggered by TPN@H, which reduces inflammation and improves wound healing [13].
   

Hyalouronic Acid

Hyaluronic acid (HA) is a naturally occurring GAG that is highly hydrophilic, non-immunogenic, non-sulfated, and anionic. It is found extensively distributed throughout the connective tissues, neural tissues, synovial fluids, and epithelia. It is comprised of cockscomb, cartilage, skin, and vitreous humor. It comprises 2-acetamide-2-deoxy-α-d-glucose and β-d-gluconic acid that are bound by numerous (1,3) and (1,4) glycoside bonds [9]. HA is widely used in the biomedical field because of its bacteriostatic effect [14]. It is also used in tissue engineering, ocular surgery, wound healing [15], and along with material for implant preparation in reconstructive plastic surgery [16].In order to conduct research on hyaluronic acid oligosaccharides, Huang et al prepared an ointment that contained a blend of hyaluronan fragments. In addition to developing tubes of endothelial cells in the midst of high glucose, o-HA significantly boosted migration and proliferation. Applying O-HA ointment accelerates wound healing by enhancing angiogenesis in the injured skin region. This suggests that using O-HA topically in a clinical setting may be a useful strategy for treating diabetic patient wounds [17].
 

 Gelation

Gelatin is primarily made from denatured protein collagen via a hydrolysis process that produces significant peptides which initiate signal transduction and cellular adhesion pathways during wound healing. It is biocompatible, biodegradable, and non-immunogenic [18]. Gelatin promotes the homeostasis stage, gelatin absorbs watery waste products from the wound and residues in the tissue regeneration. Because of these features, the creation of scaffolds for wound closure and the regeneration of tissues. Furthermore, it is utilized in the development of absorbent-adhesive pads and surgical wound dressing [19,20].

Challenges and Future Prospects

The challenges faced by these systems are stability and biocompatibility of the biomaterials, as these can degrade under varying physiological conditions like pH and temperature. This may trigger the inflammatory response and lead to difficulty in targeting specific tissue sites due to the poor penetration and specificity can limit the binding. Lastly, preparation of the nano drugs on a large scale can be costly and may raise sustainability issues due to the complexity of biopolymer synthesis, which can be a major hurdle in the future. The term clinical trials should be conducted to avoid toxicity and immunogenicity. The prospects of the nanodrugs are the development of the multifunctional nanodrugs which accelerate the cancer wound healing, personalized targeted therapies, but the highly reproducible and cost-effective too.

References

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