In this study, a porous, three-dimensional material of parylene (poly-p-xylylene) incorporating keratin was fabricated. As an FDA-approved material, parylene is highly stable and biocompatible. Keratin is an abundant natural material that can enhance cell adhesion and wound healing. A unique vapor deposition construction technique dispersed keratin homogenously in the parylene system. Instead of using a conventional template, a sublimating template was applied. This composite porous scaffold was investigated mechanically and biologically. In addition, human adipose stem cells were cultured on the scaffold. The synergistic functions, including biocompatibility, permeability, cell adhesion, and stem cell differentiation, were investigated. A mouse excisional wound-healing model further verified that using the porous composite scaffold with stem cells accelerated the wound healing process, supporting its in vivo efficacy. The positive results demonstrated that this material has the potential to serve as a wound repair platform.
Keywords: adipose stem cell; chemical vapor deposition; endothelial; keratin; parylene.