Polycarpolactone Fibers Gellation with Gelatin Ground Substance: Engineered Skin Extracellular Matrix Aims for Using as Tissue Engineering Skin

Abstract

Skin tissue regeneration was recently focused on the reconstruction and development of biomaterials to produce artificial skin for patients with skin lost defects. The research was focused on the design of an effective scaffold containing fibrous elements and ground substance mimicking the natural dermal extracellular matrix (ECM), supporting cell interaction and promoting cell growth [5]. The biomaterials selection, fabrication and modification are crucial processes for scaffold designing.

This study used Polycarpolactone(PCL) and gelatin as ECM fiber and ground substance, respectively. PCL and Gelatin was blended in tetrafluoroethanol (TFE) solvent. The mixtures were then fabricated with various electrospinning parameters. In order to enhance a material pore size supporting cell migration, and modified ground surface by using rubber pattern to obtain a proper woven fibers sheet. The efficient ground substance was then created by gellation of the gelatin fiber to insert in the sheet. Morphology observation by scanning electron microscope (SEM) showed the success of the ground substance creation and that gels infiltration between fibers of the scaffold structure had occurred. The pore size of scaffold was 40-70 micron and 98-99% of porosity. Cytotoxicity tests using primary human fibroblast cells treated with scaffold extracted solution showed that more than 90% of cells could survive. The biodegradation appeared to have an increase statistically significant with enhanced time duration of contact with media. For cellular biocompatibility tests, our engineered scaffold was co-cultured with primary human fibroblasts. The results showed that the migration and proliferation of cells can be found inside the scaffold. Our preliminary result shows that the addition of ground substance component, gelatin, can support cellular migration and attachment, which are important factors for wound healing. Further study is to co-culture dermal scaffold with primary human keratinocyte to create epidermis layer to be full-thickness skin for advanced clinical applications.