Dual-Layered Approach of Ovine Collagen-Gelatin/Cellulose Hybrid Biomatrix Containing Graphene Oxide-Silver Nanoparticles for Cutaneous Wound Healing: Fabrication, Physicochemical, Cytotoxicity and Antibacterial Characterisation

Abstract

Tissue engineering products have grown rapidly as an alternative solution available for chronic wound and burn treatment. However, some drawbacks include additional procedures and a lack of antibacterial properties that can impair wound healing, which are issues that need to be tackled effectively for better wound recovery. This study aimed to develop a functionalized dual-layered hybrid biomatrix composed of collagen sponge (bottom layer) to facilitate cell proliferation and adhesion and gelatin/cellulose hydrogel (outer layer) incorporated with graphene oxide and silver nanoparticles (GC-GO/AgNP) to prevent possible external infections post-implantation. The bilayer hybrid scaffold was crosslinked with 0.1% (w/v) genipin for 6 h followed by advanced freeze-drying technology. Various characterisation parameters were employed to investigate the microstructure, biodegradability, surface wettability, nanoparticles antibacterial activity, mechanical strength, and biocompatibility of the bilayer bioscaffold towards human skin cells. The bilayer bioscaffold exhibited favourable results for wound healing applications as it demonstrated good water uptake (1702.12 ± 161.11%), slow rate of biodegradation (0.13 ± 0.12 mg/h), and reasonable water vapour transmission rate (800.00 ± 65.85 gm−2 h−1) due to its porosity (84.83 ± 4.48%). The biomatrix was also found to possess hydrophobic properties (48.97 ± 3.68°), ideal for cell attachment and high mechanical strength. Moreover, the hybrid GO-AgNP promoted antibacterial properties via the disk diffusion method. Finally, biomatrix unravelled good cellular compatibility with human dermal fibroblasts (>90%). Therefore, the fabricated bilayer scaffold could be a potential candidate for skin wound healing application.

Injectable Crosslinked Genipin Hybrid Gelatin–PVA Hydrogels for Future Use as Bioinks in Expediting Cutaneous Healing Capacity: Physicochemical Characterisation and Cytotoxicity Evaluation

“…The duration for the selected hydrogel in wound healing application should be at least 14 days before entirely degrading at the implanted site [ 54 ]. The crosslinking process using a chemical crosslinker, genipin, was used to enhance the scaffolds’ stability [ 39 ]. Genipin has been established to contain antioxidant properties to expedite wound healing phases and at the same time prolong the micro stability to sustain the cell migration and differentiation from surrounded native tissues.…”

“…The hydrogels were subjected to a water vapor transmission rates (WVTR) test to determine their ability to transmit water and allow gases’ exchange through the hydrogel to aid in wound healing, in accordance with the American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM) standard [ 38 , 39 ]. Briefly, the hydrogel was placed onto a cylindrical cup with 10 mL of distilled water.…”

“…The mechanical testing was adapted from Salleh et al, 2022, with some modification using a simple compression test [ 38 , 39 ]. The sample compression was measured by placing the polymerised hydrogel at room temperature.…”

“…The scaffolds’ resilience, their ability to retain their original shape after being subjected to pressure, was adapted from Salleh et al, 2022 [ 39 ]. A total of 300 g of metal weight was imposed on the bio-composite scaffolds for 2 min.…”

The Discovery and Development of Natural-Based Biomaterials with Demonstrated Wound Healing Properties: A Reliable Approach in Clinical Trials

“…Moreover, some of our group studies have proved that incorporating nanoparticles within natural-based composites can enhance scaffolding performance, cellular interactions, and their physico-chemical and biological interactions [ 115 ]. Our recent report described the efficiency of fabricated bilayer scaffolds, composed of a collagen sponge (bottom layer) and gelatin/cellulose (outer layer) incorporated with graphene oxide and silver nanoparticles, at preventing possible external infections post-implantation [ 116 ]. There are many ongoing studies in the literature on integrating antibacterial compounds into natural-based biomaterials with the aim of producing a synergistic effect in skin tissue wound healing, especially for chronic wounds [ 117 ].…”