Cancer and infectious diseases such as Ebola, HIV, tuberculosis, Zika, hepatitis, measles and human schistosomiasis are serious global health hazards. The increasing annual morbidities and mortalities of these diseases have been blamed on drug resistance and the inefficacy of available diagnostic tools, particularly those which are immunologically-based. Antibody-based tools rely solely on antibody production for diagnosis and for this reason they are the major cause of diagnostic delays. Unfortunately, the control of these diseases depends on early detection and administration of effective treatment therefore any diagnostic delay is a huge challenge to curbing these diseases. Hence, there is a need for alternative diagnostic tools, discovery and development of novel therapeutic agents. Studies have demonstrated that aptamers could potentially offer one of the best solutions to these problems. Aptamers are short sequences of either DNA or RNA molecules, which are identified in vitro through a SELEX process. They are sensitive and bind specifically to target molecules. Their promising features suggest they may serve as better diagnostic agents and can be used as drug carriers for therapeutic purposes. In this article, we review the applications of aptamers in the theranostics of cancer and some infectious diseases.

Chronic and non‐healing wounds are a global health issue with limited effective treatments. Wound care costs continue to rise, highlighting the need for new therapies. Medicinal plants, particularly African species, show promise for enhancing wound healing. This review analysed 93 studies and identified 37 relevant to wound healing, covering 39 plant species. Ten species were identified for their rich phytochemical content, specifically flavonoids, terpenoids, and alkaloids (plant‐derived compounds). These compounds act synergistically, enhancing the wound healing process at each stage. Flavonoids reduce inflammation and support tissue turnover, while terpenoids enhance collagen production and wound closure. Alkaloids offer antimicrobial benefits and support wound contraction. Notable plants include Ageratum conyzoides and Aspilia africana (Asteraceae family); promoting haemostasis by lowering plasma fibrinogen and enhancing platelet‐derived growth factors; Withania somnifera (Solanaceae); and Entada africana (Fabaceae), effectively regulating inflammation. In the proliferative phase, Ocimum gratissimum (Lamiaceae), Calendula officinalis (Asteraceae), and Centella asiatica (Apiaceae) although C. officinalis is native to Southern Europe, and C. asiatica an Asian‐native; they are widely used in African traditional medicine and included here for their relevance in African wound healing practices; Justicia flava (Acanthaceae), Alternanthera sessilis (Amaranthaceae), and Acalypha indica (Euphorbiaceae); play key roles in enhancing collagen production, angiogenesis, and re‐epithelialisation. This comprehensive analysis highlights the role of African medicinal plants in wound healing and their potential to improve wound care therapy.

The wound‐scratch assay is a widely used in vitro model for studying collective cell migration, a fundamental process contributing to wound closure and re‐epithelialisation. Owing to its simplicity, low cost, and adaptability, it has become a foundational tool for early‐stage wound‐healing research and therapeutic screening. The assay involves generating a defined gap in a confluent cell monolayer and monitoring gap closure over time as a surrogate readout of repair. This narrative review examined 199 published studies, identifying 73 relevant to wound healing. A technical hierarchy of wound creation methods was identified across three main categories: mechanical approaches (e.g., pipette tips and cell scrapers), accessible but prone to operator‐dependent variability; semi‐automated systems (e.g., inserts and wound maker devices), which improve reproducibility; and fully‐automated robotic platforms offering high precision and high‐throughput capability. While these advances enhance technical consistency, they do not overcome the assay's fundamental biological constraints. Importantly, gap closure in the wound‐scratch assay primarily reflects planar collective cell migration and does not recapitulate the integrated inflammatory, vascular, metabolic, and extracellular matrix‐dependent processes that govern wound repair in vivo. Consequently, bioactive compounds acting through antioxidant, anti‐inflammatory, angiogenic, or matrix‐modulating pathways may have their therapeutic potential underestimated or misclassified when assessed using migration‐only readouts. Preliminary in‐house (unpublished) data are presented to illustrate this limitation, demonstrating modest migration effects for compounds with established wound‐healing activity in vivo. Despite these limitations, the wound‐scratch assay remains a valuable first‐line, hypothesis‐generating tool when interpreted appropriately, with future utility dependent on integration with adapted models and complementary assays for translation.