Nanotechnology-Based Therapies for Preventing Post-Surgical Adhesions

Adhesions are the body’s natural response to various inflammatory causes, with surgery being the most common cause. However, the formation of post-operative adhesions can lead to significant complications, including intestinal obstruction and chronic pain. To prevent such post-operative complications associated with adhesions, developing effective strategies for adhesion prevention has been a major focus of research. Currently, there are several therapeutic models which have been developed to achieve this aim. These include pharmaceuticals, inert polymers, functional biomaterials, and nanotherapeutics. Among the various strategies developed, nanotherapeutics, though still in its early stages, proves to be a promising approach. While the other therapeutic models are associated with adverse side effects and complications with regards to their application, nanotherapeutic models are not only able to overcome the limitations of the other strategies, but they also provide their own set of unique advantages. Hence, nanotherapeutics is an area that is worthy of research, and more should be done to refine the existing nanotherapeutics for their use in the clinical context, as well as to address any associated safety and ethical concerns with regards to their clinical usage. Therefore, this article aims to review the various nanotherapeutic approaches that have been developed to prevent post-operative adhesions and to explore its regulatory pathways as well as some of the associated safety and ethical concerns.