Biomedicine: electrospun nanofibrous hormonal therapies through skin/tissue—a review

Nanotechnology has enabled many interesting novel applications in all scientific and technological fields. Biomedicine is one of these fields, which has exploited nanotechnological advancements extensively in wound dressings, transdermal patches and tissue engineering scaffolds. In order to achieve desired functionalities, one or more therapeutic agents are generally embedded in the related structures. Hormones could also be used as therapeutic agents for different health purposes since they are known to be crucial for maintaining daily functions of the human body. For these facts, hormones and hormone-balancing agents have been given a special emphasis in biomedical applications both for maintaining health and well-being in youth and senescence and for treating diseases and wounds stemming from surgery and/or injury. It is also striking that hormonal therapies have gradually shifted from oral to topical route of administration, in which nanofibers have gained a special importance. Despite the increased attention in this field, there is no review present in literature regarding nanofibrous structures for the purpose of hormonal therapies. To fulfill this gap, this review article is devoted to summarizing the developments in nanofibrous structures for health and well-being applications and to addressing associated potential opportunities in wound dressings, transdermal patches, and tissue scaffolds.