Insights into advanced dressings based on shape memory materials for wound management

Wound is the breakage of the skin caused by external damage, and it greatly enhances the risk of infection. Severe chronic wounds can typically lead to the deterioration of the wound condition, prolonged wound healing, complex medical treatment and even mortality. As a reliable strategy, diverse innovative medical dressings have demonstrated significant potential in accelerating wound healing. Shape memory materials can respond to specific external stimuli, such as heat, light, or moisture, to revert to their original shapes and possess good biocompatibility, adaptability and tunable biodegradability, which have exhibited quite valuable applications in biomedical fields such as cardiovascular stents and self-tightening sutures. In this review, the routine wound healing process and common wound dressings including electrospun fibers, hydrogels and sponges are first summarized. Then, the classification and different activation mechanisms of shape memory materials are analyzed, with a focus on comparison among thermally, optically, and water-driven modes, highlighting the potential of water-driven modes in biomedical applications. Finally, the latest research progress on shape memory materials for wound healing, including self-contractive dressing, drug-delivery dressing and hemostatic dressing, are systematically reviewed and highlighted. Finally, the current challenges and prospects are analyzed, with the aim to provide a preliminary discussion and scientific reference for building more effective wound treatment dressings.