Long-Term Follow-Up of gold nanoparticle-based therapy for chronic wounds
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.22811880Keywords:
gold nanoparticles, chronic wounds, wound healing, antimicrobial nanomedicine, biodistributionAbstract

Background: Gold nanoparticles combine photothermal, antibacterial, and immunomodulatory properties, making them a studied platform for chronic wounds, which affect 6.5 million US patients and cost over $25 billion annually [1].
Objective: This review synthesizes evidence on gold nanoparticle-based therapy for chronic wounds, emphasizing long-term wound-healing efficacy and systemic biodistribution and safety.
Methods: We synthesized in vitro antibacterial studies, animal wound models, comparative metal nanoparticle reviews, and toxicological studies reporting biodistribution beyond the acute dosing window.
Findings: Gold nanoparticles disrupt bacterial membranes and metabolism [5,6], accelerate closure of infected and diabetic wounds combined with peptides or photothermal activation [13,20], and drive macrophage M2 polarization [21]; rodent studies show organ retention for weeks to months without an alarming toxicity signal [22,23,24].
Conclusions: Gold nanoparticle-based chronic wound therapies rest on a coherent preclinical literature, but genuine long-term follow-up remains the critical gap before mainstream use [3,4].
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