Full-thickness skin wounds are a significant clinical burden in the United States. Skin bioprinting is a relatively new technology that is under investigation as a new treatment for full-thickness injuries, and development of hydrogels with strong physical and biological characteristics are required to improve both structural integrity of the printed constructs while allowing for a more normal extracellular matrix milieu. This project aims to evaluate the physical and biological characteristics of fibrinogen hydrogel supplemented with decellularized human skin-derived extracellular matrix (dsECM). The hybrid hydrogel improves the cell viability and structural strength of bioprinted skin constructs. Scanning electron microscopy demonstrates that the hybrid hydrogel is composed of both swelling bundles interlocked in a fibrin network, similar to healthy human skin. This hybrid hydrogel has improved rheological properties and shear thinning properties. Extrusion-based printing of the fibrinogen hydrogel + dsECM demonstrates significant improvement in crosshatch pore size. These findings suggest that incorporating the properties of dsECM and fibrinogen hydrogels will improve in vivo integration of the bioprinted skin constructs and support of healthy skin wound regeneration.
Keywords: decellularization; printability; rheology; skin anatomy and microarchitecture; wound healing.