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With the aging of population and the development of social economy, the incidence of chronic wounds is increasing day by day, while the incidence of burns and trauma remains at a high level, making wound repair an increasingly concerned area in clinical practice. Thymosin β4 is a naturally occurring small molecule protein in vivo, which is widely distributed in a variety of body fluids and cells, especially in platelets. Thymosin β4 has biological activities of promoting angiogenesis, anti-inflammation, anti-apoptosis, and anti-fibrosis, and has many important functions in wound repair. Thymosin β4 has been observed to promote the healing of various wounds, such as burns, diabetic ulcers, pressure ulcers. This paper will review the molecular structure, mechanism of wound healing promotion, pharmacokinetics, and clinical application of thymosin β4, aiming to introduce its potential in wound treatment and the shortcomings of current researches.

To prepare thymosin alpha-1 (Talpha) loaded injectable sustained release microspheres and to evaluate its release behavior, bioactivities in vitro as well as its pharmacodynamics in vivo, Talpha1 loaded microspheres was prepared with poly ( lactic-co-glycolic acid) (PLGA) as carrier material by double emulsion (W/O/W) method. Physical and chemical properties of microspheres, such as mean diameter, The release behavior and its influencing factors were morphology and drug loading were evaluated. evaluated by HPLC determination. The bioactivity of Talpha1 in the course of encapsulation process and in vitro release ware evaluated by CCK-8 method. The ratio of CD4+/CD8+ in blood was determined with flow cytometry and the pharmacodynamics of Ta, loaded microspheres was evaluated by the change of CD4+/ CD8+. Microspheres with good shape and dispersive quality were prepared. The drug entrapment efficiency of two optimizing prescriptions containing 5% NaCl and 10% glucose as outer water phase were 87. 8% and 90. 2% , respectively. The cumulated release in one month is up to 90%. The bioactivity of Talpha was conserved with glucose as outer water phase, but in the course of in vitro release, the specific activity of Talpha in the microspheres decreased a little. Talpha microspheres can increase significantly the immunity of immuno-suppressed rats. Talpha can be encapsulated in injectable microspheres to yield one-month continuous release when using biodegradable polymers PLGA as carrier material, and this technique will have a favorable perspective in the near future.