Bahareh Nowruzi, Mohammad Jabari, Zeynab Yassin,
Volume 15, Issue 1 (Volume 15, No 1 2024)
Abstract
Worldwide, 16,000 deaths occur daily due to wound injuries, leading to increased concern in low- and middle-income countries. Today, with the increasing demand of consumers to use natural biological compounds instead of using harmful and carcinogenic chemical compounds, algae were introduced to the market as an effective clinical skin alternative. In fact, ease of cultivation and low nutritional requirements make algal polysaccharides an attractive alternative for advanced wound dressings. Micro and macroalgae are a new source of biological saccharide polymers for wound healing. The hydrophilic nature of these polymers due to their capacity to trap water molecules in their structure makes hydrogels that have a high ability to absorb and release liquid. In this review article, by studying the latest articles, some algae polysaccharides that are widely used as wound healing dressings such as alginates, fucoidans, carrageenans, laminarin, agar-agar and olvan are discussed. These compounds are not only used as functional biomaterials for controlled drug delivery, but also for cell stabilization and preparation of scaffolds for tissue engineering.