Advances in Gas Therapeutics for Wound Healing: Mechanisms, Delivery Materials, and Prospects

Abstract

Wound repair, particularly chronic nonhealing wound repair, is a global health issue that affects millions of people worldwide. As an effective and safe therapeutic reagent, gas molecules in tissue repair have attracted considerable attention. Recent studies have shown that gas therapy (GT) plays an essential role in all phases of wound repair, including anti‐inflammatory and antimicrobial modulation, cell proliferation and migration, proangiogenesis, and extracellular matrix remodeling. This review aims to summarize recent progress in developing GT for wound repair. The characteristics of gas molecules with therapeutic functions, such as oxygen, nitric oxide, carbon monoxide, hydrogen sulfide, and others (such as sulfur dioxide, hydrogen, carbon dioxide, and plasma) in wound healing are introduced. GT has transitioned from pure gases to inorganic/organic materials as gas‐releasing materials, including gas‐producing and gas‐loaded materials, and controlled/long‐lasting stable‐releasing biomaterials. Finally, the limitations and prospects in the field of GT are analyzed and summarized.