Skin tissue engineering aimed to replace chronic tissue injury commonly occurred due to severe burn and chronic wound in diabetic ulcer patients. The normal skin is unable to be regenerated until the seriously injured tissue is disrupted and losing its function. 3D-bioprinting has been one of the effective methods for scaffold fabrication and is proven to replace the conventional method, which reported several drawbacks. In light of this, researchers have developed a new fabrication approach via 3D-bioprinting by combining biomaterials (bioinks) with cells and biomolecules followed by a suitable crosslinking approach. This advanced technology has been subcategorised into three different printing techniques including inject-based, laser-based, and extrusion-based printing. However, the printable quality of the currently available bioinks demonstrated shortcomings in the physicochemical and mechanical properties. This review aims to identify the limitations raised by using natural-based bioinks and the optimum temperature for various applied printing techniques. It is essential to ensure maintaining the acceptable printed scaffold property such as the optimum pore sizes and porosity that allow cell migration activity. In addition, the properties required for an ideal bioinks design for better scaffold printability were also summarised.

Skin substitutes can provide a temporary or permanent treatment option for chronic wounds. The selection of skin substitutes depends on several factors, including the type of wound and its severity. Full-thickness skin grafts (SGs) require a well-vascularised bed and sometimes will lead to contraction and scarring formation. Besides, donor sites for full-thickness skin grafts are very limited if the wound area is big, and it has been proven to have the lowest survival rate compared to thick- and thin-split thickness. Tissue engineering technology has introduced new advanced strategies since the last decades to fabricate the composite scaffold via the 3D-bioprinting approach as a tissue replacement strategy. Considering the current global donor shortage for autologous split-thickness skin graft (ASSG), skin 3D-bioprinting has emerged as a potential alternative to replace the ASSG treatment. The three-dimensional (3D)-bioprinting technique yields scaffold fabrication with the combination of biomaterials and cells to form bioinks. Thus, the essential key factor for success in 3D-bioprinting is selecting and developing suitable bioinks to maintain the mechanisms of cellular activity. This crucial stage is vital to mimic the native extracellular matrix (ECM) for the sustainability of cell viability before tissue regeneration. This comprehensive review outlined the application of the 3D-bioprinting technique to develop skin tissue regeneration. The cell viability of human skin cells, dermal fibroblasts (DFs), and keratinocytes (KCs) during in vitro testing has been further discussed prior to in vivo application. It is essential to ensure the printed tissue/organ constantly allows cellular activities, including cell proliferation rate and migration capacity. Therefore, 3D-bioprinting plays a vital role in developing a complex skin tissue structure for tissue replacement approach in future precision medicine.

The irregular shape and depth of wounds could be the major hurdles in wound healing for the common three-dimensional foam, sheet, or film treatment design. The injectable hydrogel is a splendid alternate technique to enhance healing efficiency post-implantation via injectable or 3D-bioprinting technologies. The authentic combination of natural and synthetic polymers could potentially enhance the injectability and biocompatibility properties. Thus, the purpose of this study was to characterise a hybrid gelatin–PVA hydrogel crosslinked with genipin (GNP; natural crosslinker). In brief, gelatin (GE) and PVA were prepared in various concentrations (w/v): GE, GPVA3 (3% PVA), and GPVA5 (5% PVA), followed by a 0.1% (w/v) genipin (GNP) crosslink, to achieve polymerisation in three minutes. The physicochemical and biocompatibility properties were further evaluated. GPVA3_GNP and GPVA5_GNP with GNP demonstrated excellent physicochemical properties compared to GE_GNP and non-crosslinked hydrogels. GPVA5_GNP significantly displayed the optimum swelling ratio (621.1 ± 93.18%) and excellent hydrophilicity (38.51 ± 2.58°). In addition, GPVA5_GNP showed an optimum biodegradation rate (0.02 ± 0.005 mg/h) and the highest mechanical strength with the highest compression modulus (2.14 ± 0.06 MPa). In addition, the surface and cross-sectional view for scanning electron microscopy (SEM) displayed that all of the GPVA hydrogels have optimum average pore sizes (100–199 μm) with interconnected pores. There were no substantial changes in chemical analysis, including FTIR, XRD, and EDX, after PVA and GNP intervention. Furthermore, GPVA hydrogels influenced the cell biocompatibility, which successfully indicated >85% of cell viability. In conclusion, gelatin–PVA hydrogels crosslinked with GNP were proven to have excellent physicochemical, mechanical, and biocompatibility properties, as required for potential bioinks for chronic wound healing.

Three-dimensional (3D) in vitro skin models are frequently employed in cosmetic and pharmaceutical research to minimize the demand for animal testing. Hence, three-dimensional (3D) bioprinting was introduced to fabricate layer-by-layer bioink made up of cells and improve the ability to develop a rapid manufacturing process, while maintaining bio-mechanical scaffolds and microstructural properties. Briefly, gelatin-polyvinyl alcohol (GPVA) was mixed with 1.5 × 106 and 3.0 × 106 human dermal fibroblast (HDF) cell density, together with 0.1% genipin (GNP), as a crosslinking agent, using 3D-bioprinting. Then, it was cultured under submerged and air-lifting conditions. The gross appearance of the hydrogel’s surface and cross-section were captured and evaluated. The biocompatibility testing of HDFs and cell–bioink interaction towards the GPVA was analyzed by using live/dead assay, cell migration activity, cell proliferation assay, cell morphology (SEM) and protein expression via immunocytochemistry. The crosslinked hydrogels significantly demonstrated optimum average pore size (100–199 μm). The GPVA crosslinked with GNP (GPVA_GNP) hydrogels with 3.0 × 106 HDFs was proven to be outstanding, compared to the other hydrogels, in biocompatibility testing to promote cellular interaction. Moreover, GPVA–GNP hydrogels, encapsulated with 3.0 × 106 HDFs under submerged cultivation, had a better outcome than air-lifting with an excellent surface cell viability rate of 96 ± 0.02%, demonstrated by 91.3 ± 4.1% positively expressed Ki67 marker at day 14 that represented active proliferative cells, an average of 503.3 ± 15.2 μm for migration distance, and maintained the HDFs’ phenotypic profiles with the presence of collagen type I expression. It also presented with an absence of alpha-smooth muscle actin positive staining. In conclusion, 3.0 × 106 of hybrid GPVA hydrogel crosslinked with GNP, produced by submerged cultivation, was proven to have the excellent biocompatibility properties required to be a potential bioinks for the rapid manufacturing of 3D in vitro of a single dermal layer for future use in cosmetic, pharmaceutic and toxicologic applications.

Silicon has made its breakthrough in various industries, including clinical and biomedical applications. Silicon-based biomaterials that were fabricated into various types of scaffolds may attract interest due to their highly favorable properties covering their excellent biocompatibility, high surface area, mechanical strength, and selectivity depending on their application including film, hydrogel, nanoparticles, and so on. Silicon-based materials have also shown exciting results involving cell culture, cell growth, as well as tissue engineering. In this article, a simple review compromising the evaluation of silicon’s unique properties has been discussed and followed by the application of the silicone-based product in future perspectives in biomedical fields. The review goals are to widen and inspire broader interest in silicone-based materials in wound healing research.

3D bioprinting technology is a well-established and promising advanced fabrication technique that utilizes potential biomaterials as bioinks to replace lost skin and promote new tissue regeneration. Cutaneous regenerative biomaterials are highly commended since they benefit patients with larger wound sizes and irregular wound shapes compared to the painstaking split-skin graft. This study aimed to fabricate biocompatible, biodegradable, and printable bioinks as a cutaneous substitute that leads to newly formed tissue post-transplantation. Briefly, gelatin (GE) and polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) bioinks were prepared in various concentrations (w/v); GE (6% GE: 0% PVA), GPVA3 (6% GE: 3% PVA), and GPVA5 (6% GE: 5% PVA), followed by 0.1% (w/v) genipin (GNP) crosslinking to achieve optimum printability. According to the results, GPVA5_GNP significantly presented at least 590.93 ± 164.7% of swelling ratio capacity and optimal water vapor transmission rate (WVTR), which is <1500 g/m2/h to maintain the moisture of the wound microenvironment. Besides, GPVA5_GNP is also more durable than other hydrogels with the slowest biodegradation rate of 0.018 ± 0.08 mg/h. The increasing amount of PVA improved the rheological properties of the hydrogels, leading the GPVA5_GNP to have the highest viscosity, around 3.0 ± 0.06 Pa.s. It allows a better performance of bioinks printability via extrusion technique. Moreover, the cross-section of the microstructure hydrogels showed the average pore sizes >100 μm with excellent interconnected porosity. X-ray diffraction (XRD) analysis showed that the hydrogels maintain their amorphous properties and were well-distributed through energy dispersive X-ray after crosslinking. Furthermore, there had no substantial functional group changes, as observed by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, after the addition of crosslinker. In addition, GPVA hydrogels were biocompatible to the cells, effectively demonstrating >90% of cell viability. In conclusion, GPVA hydrogels crosslinked with GNP, as prospective bioinks, exhibited the superior properties necessary for wound healing treatment.

Introduction: Plenty of biomaterials have been studied for their application in skin tissue engineering. Currently, gelatin-hydrogel is used to support three-dimensional (3D) skin in vitro models. However, mimicking the human body conditions and properties remains a challenge and gelatin-hydrogels have low mechanical properties and undergo rapid degradation rendering them not suitable for 3D in vitro cell culture. Nevertheless, changing the concentration of hydrogels could overcome this issue. Thus, we aim to investigate the potential of gelatin hydrogel with different concentrations crosslinked with genipin to promote human epidermal keratinocytes and human dermal fibroblasts culture to develop a 3D-in vitro skin model replacing animal models.Methods: Briefly, the composite gelatin hydrogels were fabricated using different concentrations as follows 3%, 5%, 8%, and 10% crosslinked with 0.1% genipin or non-crosslinked. Both physical and chemical properties were evaluated.Results and discussion: The crosslinked scaffolds showed better properties, including porosity and hydrophilicity, and genipin was found to enhance the physical properties. Furthermore, no alteration was prominent in both formulations of CL_GEL 5% and CL_GEL8% after genipin modification. The biocompatibility assays showed that all groups promoted cell attachment, cell viability, and cell migration except for the CL_GEL10% group. The CL_GEL5% and CL_GEL8% groups were selected to develop a bi-layer 3D-in vitro skin model. The immunohistochemistry (IHC) and hematoxylin and eosin staining (H&amp;E) were performed on day 7, 14, and 21 to evaluate the reepithelization of the skin constructs. However, despite satisfactory biocompatibility properties, neither of the selected formulations, CL_GEL 5% and CL_GEL 8%, proved adequate for creating a bi-layer 3D in-vitro skin model. While this study provides valuable insights into the potential of gelatin hydrogels, further research is needed to address the challenges associated with their use in developing 3D skin models for testing and biomedical applications.

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