On-demand dissolvable hydrogel dressings for promoting wound healing

The rapid and painless dressing change is a global challenge in wound management due to the traditional ways of dressing change often cause secondary damage on newly formed skin tissue. Recently, researchers have shown great interest in the development of on-demand dissolvable hydrogel dressings that can be rapidly and safely dissolved under specific stimuli. These hydrogel dressings possess multifunctional properties, including injectability, self-healing capacity, anti-inflammation, antioxidation, and angiogenesis capabilities, which have successfully promoted healing for various types of wounds. In this review, we summarize current methods for fabricating on-demand dissolvable hydrogels dressings, which include two strategies: (1) chemical stimuli, involving the introduction of external dissolving agents; (2) physical stimuli, where stimuli are applied without the use of dissolving agents. These approaches can decrease the density of cross-links, resulting in the dissolution of hydrogel dressings. The advantages and drawbacks of these on-demand dissolvable hydrogels dressings for promoting wound healing are discussed and addressed. The development and challenges for the clinical application of on-demand dissolvable hydrogel dressings are prospected. image