Nanoparticle-enabled herbal therapeutics for wound healing: bridging traditional medicine and modern nanotechnology

Wound healing is a complex, multistage physiological process involving hemostasis, inflammation, proliferation, and remodeling. Despite progress in conventional therapies, chronic and infected wounds remain major global health burdens, necessitating advanced biomaterial-based interventions. In recent years, nanoparticle-based delivery systems have emerged as transformative platforms for accelerating tissue repair, preventing infection, and modulating inflammatory pathways. This review comprehensively explores the integration of metal-based nanoparticles—including silver (Ag), gold (Au), copper (Cu), titanium (Ti), zinc (Zn), manganese (Mn), and cerium (Ce)—and biopolymeric or lipid-based nanostructures, such as nanoemulsions, hydrogels, solid lipid nanoparticles, and polymeric composites, in modern wound-healing strategies. These nanosystems exhibit superior bioavailability, controlled release, and targeted delivery of therapeutic phytoconstituents and biomolecules. In parallel, the growing body of herbal formulation patents demonstrates how traditional phytotherapy and modern nanotechnology are converging to create multifunctional, eco-sustainable wound-healing products with enhanced clinical potential. Key innovations include synergistic antimicrobial–anti-inflammatory activity, improved collagen synthesis, angiogenesis, and re-epithelialization. Together, these advancements mark a paradigm shift toward nanostructured herbal therapeutics that are biocompatible, stable, and scalable for translational and industrial development. This review provides a critical synthesis of current trends, mechanistic insights, and emerging directions, underscoring how nanoparticle-enabled herbal formulations are redefining the future of regenerative wound care.