Green and sustainable hydrogels based on quaternized chitosan to enhance wound healing

Hydrogel dressings provide the wound with a moist environment, facilitating tissue regeneration through granulation and re-epithelialization. Their inherent flexibility enables incorporation of cells, antimicrobial drugs, growth factors, and bioactive compounds, expediting wound contraction and enhancing the regeneration process. The utilization of natural polysaccharides, particularly chitosan, as green and more sustainable biomaterials from renewable resources, are on demand for wound healing because of its cost-effectiveness, biocompatibility, and biodegradability. However, the challenge of limited solubility of chitosan at neutral or high pH levels was identified. The exploration of quaternary chitosan hydrogels has been responded through contribution of a quaternary ammonium group for improving the hydrophilicity and antibacterial effects over a wide range of pH. This review summarizes the latest progress in using hydrogel dressings based on quaternized chitosan for wound regeneration, encompassing various aspects such as hemostasis, antibacterial activity, antioxidant properties, and overall wound healing efficacy. Furthermore, the present review addresses the existing challenges and explores development avenues in pursue of optimizing wound regeneration performance of quaternized chitosan hydrogels in prospect.