**12. Advantages of nanotechnology over conventional methods for healing**

Nanotechnology offers several advantages to nanomaterial dressings as compared to dressings prepared by conventional methods for wound healing applications. The various advantages of nanomaterials considered for skin tissue engineering include: (i) nano-dimensions impart proper structure to cells/tissues for their adhesion, differentiation, and proliferation, (ii) due to particular chemical composition and physical structure, nanomaterials serve as analogous structures to extracellular matrix [192], (iii) nanomaterials have high mechanical strength due to which these can act to reinforce various organic/synthetic scaffolds for tissue engineering [193], (iv) high conductivity of carbon-based nanomaterials provides electrical stimulation to scaffolds for skin tissue repair [194, 195], (v) micro/nanoencapsulation of important growth factors/bioactive agents help them to release these molecules in a slow and sustained manner at the target wound site [196, 197], (vi) NPs impart better biocompatibility, bioactivity and enhance interactions of scaffolds to cells or proteins [198], and (vii) NPs possess astonishing properties that are far better in terms of high Young's modulus, high tensile strength, and high surface-area-to-volume ratio as compared to the bulk materials from which nanomaterials are being prepared. All these advantages of NPs make them successful candidates for tissue repair and wound healing applicability.
