Collagen based electrospun materials for skin wounds treatment

Abstract

Materials used for wound care have evolved from simple covers to functional wound dressings with bioactive properties. Electrospun nanofibers show great similarity to the natural fibrillar structure of skin extracellular matrix (ECM); therefore, by mimic, the morphology of ECM, nanofibers show high potential for facilitating the healing of skin injuries. Besides morphology, scaffold composition is another important parameter in the production of bioactive wound dressings. Collagen type I is the main structural protein of skin ECM is biocompatible, biodegradable, and its extraction from animal sources is relatively simple. The fabrication of electrospun wound dressings based on collagen and its blends have been studied for skin tissue engineering applications. This review focus on the new advances of collagen electrospun materials for skin wound treatment. It summarizes the recent research on pristine collagen, collagen blends, and collagen surface modifications on nanofibers mats. Finally, the strategies for three‐dimensional nanofibers production will also be discussed.

Collagen in Wound Healing

“…Collagen applications in wound healing have been tested in numerous ways. They have been used as matrices/scaffolds for tissue engineering, hemostatics, soft tissue repair and more recently as a drug delivery system [ 6 , 10 , 11 , 26 , 53 , 72 , 73 , 74 , 75 , 76 , 77 , 78 , 79 , 80 ]. Collagen wound dressings contain collagen blended with natural and synthetic polymers such as polyethylene oxide, poly (L-lactic acid), hyaluronic acid, elastin and silk fibroin, alginate, chitosan, etc [ 73 , 81 , 82 , 83 , 84 , 85 ].…”

“…They have been used as matrices/scaffolds for tissue engineering, hemostatics, soft tissue repair and more recently as a drug delivery system [ 6 , 10 , 11 , 26 , 53 , 72 , 73 , 74 , 75 , 76 , 77 , 78 , 79 , 80 ]. Collagen wound dressings contain collagen blended with natural and synthetic polymers such as polyethylene oxide, poly (L-lactic acid), hyaluronic acid, elastin and silk fibroin, alginate, chitosan, etc [ 73 , 81 , 82 , 83 , 84 , 85 ]. These blended fabrications have incorporated other additives such as insulin [ 86 ], antibiotics [ 87 , 88 , 89 , 90 , 91 , 92 ] or gold nanoparticles [ 93 , 94 , 95 ] and have been tested mostly in in vitro studies or small animal models of wound healing.…”

“…Collagen is also used as a surface coating to enhance moisture retention and promote cell adhesion within scaffolds/matrices [ 73 , 81 , 82 , 83 , 84 , 86 , 87 , 88 , 89 , 90 , 91 , 92 , 93 , 94 , 95 ]. Water retention is important to keep the wound bed moist.…”

Combining Biocompatible and Biodegradable Scaffolds and Cold Atmospheric Plasma for Chronic Wound Regeneration

“…This also applies to biodegradability. Polylactic acid (PLA), poly-D,L-lactide-coglycolic acid (PLGA), polyvinyl alcohol (PVA), or polycaprolactone (PCL) are widely used synthetic polymers [17,20]. To utilize the advantages of both materials and to overcome the limitations of each, bioengineering evaluates mixtures of natural and synthetic materials as nanofibrous scaffolds [91].…”

“…Of special interest for skin replacement are asymmetric membranes that consist of two layers that resemble the functions of the epidermis and dermis. Such electrospun scaffolds enhance porosity, the absorption of moisture, exchange of oxygen, and antimicrobial properties as well as outer protection and barrier function [17][18][19][20][21][22][23]. Another innovative way to produce such a bilayered skin scaffold is constituted by high hydrostatic pressure (HHP).…”