Novel Drug Delivery Approaches in Wound Healing from Conventional Dressings to Smart Therapeutic Systems Incorporating Natural Bioactives

The history of wound management has moved beyond traditional passive dressings to advanced intelligent therapeutic solutions that proactively encourage healing by directing the delivery of drugs through controlled mechanisms. Conventional wound dressings such as gauze, cotton and adhesive bandages have limited protection and absorption properties that cannot accommodate the intricate healing issues that may be needed like control of infection and inflammatory, as well as tissue regeneration. These traditional modalities exhibit high levels of limitations such as inadequate moisture management, regular dressing changes which can disrupt healing and failure to address the dynamic wound conditions. The use of modern drug delivery systems containing natural bioactives marks a revolutionary change in the technology of wound care. Plant-based natural compounds such as polyphenols, flavonoids, terpenoids, and essential oils possess varied therapeutic effects, which include anti-inflammatory, antimicrobial, anti-oxidant, and regenerative effects on the tissues. Such bioactives have better biocompatibility and multi-target activities over synthetic counterparts. The development of advanced delivery systems as hydrogels, nanoparticles, electrospun fibers, and smart responsive systems allows the delivery of sensitive compounds to be regulated, increase bioavailability, and protect vulnerable compounds. Smart therapeutic systems reacts smartly to the stimuli of the wound environment like pH, changes in temperature, enzyme presence, and infection indicators to allow targeted therapeutic action to occur. Improved healing results are seen in acute wounds, chronic ulcers, diabetic wounds, and burning wounds; there are huge decreases in healing time, infections, and patient comfort. The personalized medicine, digital health integration, artificial intelligence applications, and regenerative medicine developments will be in the future and will radically transform wound care delivery by providing advanced, adaptive therapeutic systems.