A gelatin/collagen/polycaprolactone scaffold for skin regeneration

Lin-Gwei Wei; Hsin-I Chang; Yiwei Wang; Shan-Hui Hsu; Lien-Guo Dai; Keng-Yen Fu; Niann-Tzyy Dai

doi:10.7717/peerj.6358

A gelatin/collagen/polycaprolactone scaffold for skin regeneration

PeerJ. 2019 Feb 1:7:e6358. doi: 10.7717/peerj.6358. eCollection 2019.

Authors

Lin-Gwei Wei^#¹, Hsin-I Chang^#², Yiwei Wang³, Shan-Hui Hsu^{4

5}, Lien-Guo Dai⁶, Keng-Yen Fu⁷, Niann-Tzyy Dai⁷

Affiliations

¹ Division of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery, Taoyuan Armed Forces General Hospital, Taoyuan, Taiwan, R.O.C.
² Department of Biochemical Science and Technology, National Chiayi University, Chiayi, Taiwan, R.O.C.
³ Burns Research Group, ANZAC Research Institute, Concord Hospital, University of Sydney, Concord West, NSW, Australia.
⁴ Institute of Polymer Science and Engineering, National Taiwan University, Taipei, Taiwan, R.O.C.
⁵ Research Center for Developmental Biology and Regenerative Medicine, National Taiwan University, Taipei, Taiwan, R.O.C.
⁶ Department of Orthopedics, Shuang Ho Hospital, Taipei Medical University, Taipei, Taiwan, R.O.C.
⁷ Division of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery, Department of Surgery, Tri-Service General Hospital, National Defense Medical Center, Taipei, Taiwan, R.O.C.

^# Contributed equally.

Abstract

Background: A tissue-engineered skin substitute, based on gelatin ("G"), collagen ("C"), and poly(ε-caprolactone) (PCL; "P"), was developed.

Method: G/C/P biocomposites were fabricated by impregnation of lyophilized gelatin/collagen (GC) mats with PCL solutions, followed by solvent evaporation. Two different GC:PCL ratios (1:8 and 1:20) were used.

Results: Differential scanning calorimetry revealed that all G/C/P biocomposites had characteristic melting point of PCL at around 60 °C. Scanning electron microscopy showed that all biocomposites had similar fibrous structures. Good cytocompatibility was present in all G/C/P biocomposites when incubated with primary human epidermal keratinocytes (PHEK), human dermal fibroblasts (PHDF) and human adipose-derived stem cells (ASCs) in vitro. All G/C/P biocomposites exhibited similar cell growth and mechanical characteristics in comparison with C/P biocomposites. G/C/P biocomposites with a lower collagen content showed better cell proliferation than those with a higher collagen content in vitro. Due to reasonable mechanical strength and biocompatibility in vitro, G/C/P with a lower content of collagen and a higher content of PCL (GC_LP_H) was selected for animal wound healing studies. According to our data, a significant promotion in wound healing and skin regeneration could be observed in GC_LP_H seeded with adipose-derived stem cells by Gomori's trichrome staining.

Conclusion: This study may provide an effective and low-cost wound dressings to assist skin regeneration for clinical use.

Keywords: Adipose-derived stem cells; Collagen; Gelatin; Poly(ε-caprolactone)(PCL); Skin tissue engineering.

Grants and funding

The financial support for this work was provided by the Ministry of National Defense, ROC (MAB-106-034), National Defense Medical Center, Tri-Service General Hospital, ROC (TSGH-C106-112), Zouying Branch of Kaohsiung Armed Forces General Hospital, ROC (ZBH 105-07), Taoyuan Armed Forces General Hospital, ROC (AFTYGH-104-27, AFTYGH-105-29), Ministry of Science and Technology, ROC (MOST-102-2314-B-016-009, MOST-103-2314-B-016-013) and Ministry of Economic Affairs (ROC) program, grant number 98-EC-17-A-19-S2-0090. Additional financial support was provided by Teh-Tzer Study Group for Human Medical Research Foundation, ROC. The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.