A new approach to wound healing developed by researchers at Imperial College London could help pave the way for smarter, more effective treatments for complex wounds.

Published in Nature Materials, the research describes a bioinspired wound dressing designed to harness the body’s own repair mechanisms. Rather than delivering manufactured healing molecules directly, the material captures growth factors already present in the wound environment and releases them precisely when and where they are needed – activated by the natural forces generated by repairing cells.

This innovative approach could one day support improved treatment for wounds that are difficult to heal, including diabetic foot ulcers, burns and traumatic injuries.

Helping the body heal itself

Successful wound repair depends on a complex network of biological signals. Among these are growth factors – proteins that instruct cells to move, multiply, form new blood vessels and rebuild damaged tissue.

In chronic wounds, these signals can become disrupted or weakened, meaning the body struggles to complete the healing process. Existing approaches often rely on delivering large amounts of manufactured growth factor drugs, but these molecules can break down quickly and may not remain in the wound long enough to have their full effect.

The new dressing takes a different approach. It acts as an intelligent material that stores healing proteins and releases them only when repair cells interact with the dressing. This allows the body’s own healing signals to be delivered at the right time and place, directly where repair is taking place.

From early discovery to living tissue

The work builds on an earlier discovery from Imperial College London researchers in 2019, which demonstrated the concept in laboratory cell cultures. The latest research represents an important step forward by showing that the mechanism can work in more biologically complex environments.

The team tested the technology in several models, including rat bone injuries, mouse skin wounds and living human skin maintained in the laboratory. The results showed that the material could support aspects of tissue repair across different settings, bringing the technology closer to potential clinical translation.

Dr Ben Almquist, Associate Professor in Bioengineering at Imperial College London and senior author of the study, described the approach as one where “the patient’s own body becomes the pharmacy” – using the body’s existing repair signals rather than relying solely on externally manufactured treatments.

Supporting research with potential impact

Rosetrees supported this research journey through co-funding of an Imperial College London Healthy Society Impact Acceleration Award in 2024, supporting Dr Almquist and his team as they progressed this pioneering technology towards real-world impact.

Supporting translational research like this is central to Rosetrees’ mission: helping promising scientific discoveries move beyond the laboratory and towards solutions that could improve people’s lives.

A future with more accessible wound care

Chronic and complex wounds affect millions of people worldwide, creating significant challenges for patients and healthcare systems. New approaches that work with the body’s own biology could offer alternative ways to support healing, particularly in settings where advanced treatments are difficult to access.

While further research and development will be needed before this technology can be used in patients, the findings represent an important advance in understanding how smart biomaterials can be designed to support natural healing processes.

By combining engineering, biology and clinical insight, this research demonstrates the potential of innovative science to address some of healthcare’s most pressing challenges.

Watch the video abstract to learn more about the research: TrAPs: Smart Wound Dressings Help the Body Heal – YouTube

Read the full paper in Nature Materials: https://www.nature.com/articles/s41563-026-02682-8