Piezoelectric Wound Dressings Modified with Bioceramic Nanoparticles

A wound is defined as a disruption in the continuity of the epithelial of skin or mucosa resulting from physical or thermal damage. Wound healing is a complex and dynamic process. In wound healing, the damaged epithelial layer creates an endogenous electric field (EF) to regulate the wound healing process, which causes increased cell migration and proliferation, increases blood flow, collagen deposition, and promotes regeneration activity. Therefore, mimicking the endogenous electric field by creating an external electric field can be effective in wound healing. Piezoelectric polymers were considered as wound dressings due to their desirable properties, however, compared to bioceramics, they have a low piezoelectric constant. The use of bioceramic nanoparticles in polymer composites leads to increasing the dielectric constant, excellent thermal and mechanical properties. In this research, principles and properties of piezoelectric polymers used in wound dressings such as polyvinylidene fluoride, graphene and the effect of adding bioceramic nanoparticles such as zinc oxide were investigated. Studies have shown that the presence of bioceramic nanoparticles causes an increase electrical conductivity, followed by an increase in cell behavior, including growth, adhesion and migration.