%0 Journal Article
%T Nanotechnological Advances in Cutaneous Medicine
%A Jessica E. Jackson
%A Zlatko Kopecki
%A Allison J. Cowin
%J Journal of Nanomaterials
%D 2013
%I Hindawi Publishing Corporation
%R 10.1155/2013/808234
%X Wound healing is an area of unmet clinical need. Current treatments include occlusive dressings, hydrogels, and antimicrobials to control infection. However with the growing number of antibiotic-resistant bacteria and the increase in population age and clinical obesity, it is becoming proportionally harder to treat wounds with the drugs that have worked in the past. There is an urgent requirement for efficient mechanism-based treatments and more efficacious drug delivery systems. The potential of using nanoparticles as a drug delivery system has been identified and investigated. Nanoparticles have the ability to protect and carry drugs to specific targets in the body, enabling slower degradation, enhancing drug penetration, improving treatment efficacy with lower systemic absorption, and reducing unwanted side effects. Here we discuss the advantages and limitations of nanotechnology for the treatment of wounds and other cutaneous disorders. 1. Introduction The skin is the largest organ in the body and is the first line of defence against invading pathogens. The primary function of the skin is to act as a protective barrier against the environment as any large insult or loss of skin integrity can lead to disability or death [1, 2]. Adult cutaneous wound healing is a complicated process involving a cascade of events and interactions between numerous cells and cell mediators [3, 4]. This process aims to restore the complete skin barrier function quickly, often at the expense of correct anatomical repair [5]. There are several dressings and devices currently available on the medical wound care market impregnated with a range of compounds which aim to optimise the wound healing environment, providing faster, more efficient wound healing [6]. There are, however, many limitations with using these dressings in clinical practice including poor skin penetration, low stability, and localised side effects. Consequently, there is a need for the development of novel and more efficient drug-delivery systems [7]. The advent of nanotechnologies has the potential to fulfil this and the design and implementation of target-selective, time-controlled drug delivery systems for cutaneous healing and regenerative medicine now exists [8, 9]. While naturally occurring nanoporous minerals have been used on an industrial scale as effective catalysts for decades, today there are a number of different substances used for the production of nanoporous materials including carbon, silicon, silicates, ceramics, metals, various polymers, metallic minerals, and compounds of organic
%U http://www.hindawi.com/journals/jnm/2013/808234/