Curcumin-Based Nanomedicines for Wound Healing Applications
Summary
Curcumin, the principal curcuminoid derived from the rhizome of Curcuma longa, exhibits potent anti-inflammatory, antioxidant and antimicrobial properties, making it an attractive candidate for wound therapy. However, its clinical translation has been hampered by poor aqueous solubility, rapid metabolism and limited bioavailability. Nanomedicines have emerged as a powerful strategy to overcome these limitations by encapsulating curcumin within nanoscale carriers that protect the active ingredient, enhance its stability and enable controlled release at the wound site. Various platforms such as liposomes, solid lipid nanoparticles, polymeric nanofibres, composite films and hydrogel scaffolds have been engineered to deliver curcumin in a sustained manner, promote fibroblast mobilisation, modulate inflammatory mediators and stimulate angiogenesis and collagen deposition. By tailoring carrier composition—often using biocompatible polymers such as chitosan, alginate, gelatin, polyvinyl alcohol or collagen—researchers have improved entrapment efficiency, optimised release kinetics and exploited synergistic effects between curcumin and the matrix material. These advances offer promising translational potential for the treatment of acute and chronic wounds, diabetic ulcers and burns, ultimately aiming to reduce healing times, minimise infection and restore skin integrity with user-friendly formulations.
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Curcumin-Based Nanomedicines for Wound Healing Applications publication trend
The graph below shows the total number of articles in curcumin-based nanomedicines for wound healing applications across all publications each year (not limited to Nature Index journals).
Technical terms
Curcumin: A hydrophobic polyphenolic compound from turmeric with anti-inflammatory, antioxidant and antimicrobial activities.
Nanocarrier: A nanoscale vehicle designed to encapsulate and deliver therapeutic agents with controlled release.
Entrapment Efficiency: The proportion of drug successfully encapsulated within a carrier relative to the amount initially used.
Polydispersity Index (PDI): A measure of the uniformity of particle size distribution in a nanosystem.
Zeta Potential: The electric potential at the slipping plane of a particle in suspension, indicating colloidal stability.
Angiogenesis: The physiological process of new blood vessel formation, essential for supplying nutrients to healing tissue.
References
- Cross-Linked Alginate Dialdehyde/Chitosan Hydrogel Encompassing Curcumin-Loaded Bilosomes for Enhanced Wound Healing Activity. Pharmaceutics (2024).
- Systematic Development and Characterization of Novel, High Drug-Loaded, Photostable, Curcumin Solid Lipid Nanoparticle Hydrogel for Wound Healing. Antioxidants (2021).
- Curcumin nanoparticles incorporated in PVA/collagen composite films promote wound healing. Drug Delivery (2020).
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