Metal-organic frameworks treating diabetic skin wounds by endogenous/exogenous responses

Diabetes has long been a significant threat to human life and health since it is a persistent illness that is challenging to cure. Diabetes can lead to various complications, particularly making it challenging for diabetic patients to heal skin wounds. The main reasons that make diabetic skin wounds difficult to recover include the proliferation of bacteria due to a high-sugar environment, difficulties in blood vessel formation, and the surplus output of inflammatory factors and reactive oxygen species (ROS). Therefore, the search for safe and effective therapeutic drugs is urgent. Metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) are a type of porous supramolecular material made up of organic molecules and metal nodes. They have been extensively researched for their applications in treating diabetic skin wounds. Currently, according to the pathophysiological features of skin lesions caused by diabetes, many MOFs are used as endogenous stimulus response therapeutic systems (such as pH, glucose, and ROS) for the care of skin wounds in individuals with diabetes. In addition, MOFs, as exogenous stimulus-responsive therapeutic systems, can achieve effective treatment through drug delivery therapy, chemodynamic therapy, photothermal therapy, and photodynamic therapy. This article reviews diabetic skin wound treatment techniques using MOFs through endogenous/exogenous stimuli. Finally, the future potential and present difficulties in using MOFs to treat diabetic skin wounds are covered. • Recent advances of metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) for treating diabetes wounds are reviewed. • The endogenous and exogenous mechanisms of MOFs in treating diabetic skin wounds are summarized. • Future developments and challenges of MOFs in the treatment of diabetic wounds are highlighted.