Carbohydrate polymers as wound management aids

Wound management aids have, in recent years, seen a transition from being s imple natural coverings which give a wound protection from the external env ironment during the formation of the scab to specialized high technology ma terials which are produced from both synthetic and natural polymers. Much o f the development has resulted from a greater understanding of the processe s involved in wound healing coupled with advances in technology to produce biocompatible materials with the necessary physical and chemical characteri stics for enhancement of the healing process. Polysaccharides, being natura lly occurring biomolecules, were an obvious choice for investigation as pot ential wound management aids. In recent years it was recognised that not on ly can polysaccharides be produced with the required physical characteristi cs for a wound management product but that the actual polysaccharide or pol ysaccharide derivative may itself actively participate in the process of wo und healing. This paper sets out to review the various types of polysacchar ides which were used as wound management aids, the physical forms in which they are used and also the biological properties of polysaccharides which e nable them to participate actively in the wound healing process. (C) 1998 E lsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.