Wound-Healing Peptides for Treatment of Chronic Diabetic Foot Ulcers and Other Infected Skin Injuries

• Main Authors: Ana Gomes, Cátia Teixeira, Ricardo Ferraz, Cristina Prudêncio, Paula Gomes
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: MDPI AG 2017-10-01
• Series: Molecules
• Subjects: antimicrobial; chronic infection; diabetes; peptides; ulcers; wound-healing; skin and soft tissue infections (SSTI)
• Online Access: https://www.mdpi.com/1420-3049/22/10/1743

As the incidence of diabetes continues to increase in the western world, the prevalence of chronic wounds related to this condition continues to be a major focus of wound care research. Additionally, over 50% of chronic wounds exhibit signs and symptoms that are consistent with localized bacterial biofilms underlying severe infections that contribute to tissue destruction, delayed wound-healing and other serious complications. Most current biomedical approaches for advanced wound care aim at providing antimicrobial protection to the open wound together with a matrix scaffold (often collagen-based) to boost reestablishment of the skin tissue. Therefore, the present review is focused on the efforts that have been made over the past years to find peptides possessing wound-healing properties, towards the development of new and effective wound care treatments for diabetic foot ulcers and other skin and soft tissue infections.