Wound healing is a complex process of overlapping phases with the primary aim of the creation of new tissues and restoring their anatomical functions.
Wound dressings are fabricated to protect the
wound and accelerate the healing process.
Biomaterials used to design dressing of
wounds could be natural or synthetic as well as the combination of both materials.
Polysaccharide polymers have been used to fabricate
wound dressings. The applications of
biopolymers, such as
chitin,
gelatin,
pullulan, and
chitosan, have greatly expanded in the biomedical field due to their non-toxic, antibacterial, biocompatible,
hemostatic, and nonimmunogenic properties. Most of these
polymers have been used in the form of foams, films, sponges, and fibers in
drug carrier devices, skin
tissue scaffolds, and
wound dressings. Currently, special focus has been directed towards the fabrication of
wound dressings based on synthesized
hydrogels using natural
polymers. The high-water retention capacity of
hydrogels makes them potent candidates for
wound dressings as they provide a moist environment in the
wound and remove excess
wound fluid, thereby accelerating wound healing. The incorporation of
pullulan with different, naturally occurring
polymers, such as
chitosan, in
wound dressings is currently attracting much attention due to the antimicrobial,
antioxidant and nonimmunogenic properties. Despite the valuable properties of
pullulan, it also has some limitations, such as poor mechanical properties and high cost. However, these properties are improved by blending it with different
polymers. Additionally, more investigations are required to obtain
pullulan derivatives with suitable properties in high quality
wound dressings and tissue engineering applications. This review summarizes the properties and
wound dressing applications of naturally occurring
pullulan, then examines it in combination with other biocompatible
polymers, such
chitosan and
gelatin, and discusses the facile approaches for oxidative modification of
pullulan.