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Excellent wound dressings should have crucial components, including high porosity, non-toxicity, high water absorption, and the ability to retain a humid environment in the wound area and facilitate wound healing. Unfortunately, current wound dressings hamper the healing process, with poor antibacterial, anti-inflammatory, and antioxidant activity, frequent dressing changes, low biodegradability, and poor mechanical properties. Hydrogels are crosslinked polymer chains with three-dimensional (3D) networks that have been applicable as wound dressings. They could retain a humid environment on the wound site, provide a protective barrier against pathogenic infections, and provide pain relief. Hydrogel can be obtained from natural, synthetic, or hybrid polymers. Honey is a natural substance that has demonstrated several therapeutic efficacies, including anti-inflammatory, antibacterial, and antioxidant activity, which makes it beneficial for wound treatment. Honey-based hydrogel wound dressings demonstrated excellent characteristics, including good biodegradability and biocompatibility, stimulated cell proliferation and reepithelization, inhibited bacterial growth, and accelerated wound healing. This review aimed to demonstrate the potential of honey-based hydrogel in wound healing applications and complement the studies accessible regarding implementing honey-based hydrogel dressing for wound healing. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: To assist in identifying the utility of novel materials in drug-delivery applications, this study investigated the use of bacterial cellulose (BC), a natural biopolymer, in the synthesis of hydrogels for drug-delivery systems. BC was combined with different proportions of acrylic acid (AA) to fabricate hydrogels by exposure to accelerated electron-beam irradiation at different doses. Fourier transform infrared analysis revealed that the AA had been successfully grafted onto the cellulose fibers and allowed for prediction of the reaction mechanism in the synthesis of hydrogels. Thermal and morphological characterization indicated the formation of thermally stable hydrogels with pore size determined by AA content and irradiation dose. The results of swelling and in vitro drug-release studies revealed the hydrogels to be both thermo- and pH-responsive. Such thermo- and pH-responsiveness, in addition to their morphological characteristics, suggests that these BC/AA hydrogels are promising candidates as controlled drug-delivery systems. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Graphical abstract Abstract Bacterial infections represent an important drawback in the orthopaedic field, as they can develop either immediately after surgery procedures or after some years. Specifically, in case of implants, they are alleged to be troublesome as their elimination often compels a surgical removal of the infected implant. A possible solution strategy could involve a local coating of the implant by an antibacterial system, which requires to be easily applicable, biocompatible and able to provide the desired release kinetics for the selected antibacterial drug. Thus, this work focusses on a biphasic system made up by a thermo-reversible gel matrix (Poloxamer 407/water system) hosting a dispersed phase (PLGA micro-particles), containing a model antibacterial drug (vancomycin hydrochloride). In order to understand the key parameters ruling the performance of this delivery system, we developed a mathematical model able to discriminate the drug diffusion inside micro-particles and within the gel phase, eventually providing to predict the drug release kinetics. The model reliability was confirmed by fitting to experimental data, proposing as a powerful theoretical approach to design and optimize such in situ delivery systems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]