Micro-Structured Patches for Dermal Regeneration Obtained via Electrophoretic Replica Deposition

Abstract

Artificial substrates supporting the healing of skin wounds require specific structural and chemical architectures that promote a recapitulation of the complexity of the native organ. Bottom-up fabrication technologies are emerging as effective strategies to fine tune biochemical, morphological, and structural features intended for regenerative applications. Here, we proposed an electrophoretic replica deposition (EPrD) approach to realize chitosan three-dimensional structures specifically designed to treat patients with serious cutaneous damages or losses. The EPrD process has been optimized to consistently obtain random porosity vs. hierarchical lattice structures, showing mechanical properties in the range of skin tissue (E = 0.2–20 MPa). The obtained patches were tested in vivo via a one-stage grafting procedure in a full thickness skin wound rat model. Chitosan patches showed no adverse reactions throughout the experimental period (14 days). Hair follicles and sebaceous glands were observed in histological sections, indicating the regeneration of a thin epidermal layer with more skin appendages. Immunohistochemistry results demonstrated that keratin 10 was mostly expressed in basal and suprabasal layers, like normal skin, in structures with random porosity and with smaller lattice structures. The obtained results show the potential of EPrD to innovate the design of artificial substrates in skin healing therapies.

Bactericidal Activity of Silver-Doped Chitosan Coatings via Electrophoretic Deposition on Ti6Al4V Additively Manufactured Substrates

“…Electrophoretic deposition bath was prepared by dissolving silver nitrate in 50% water + 50% ethanol bath (pH = 4.65, (CS) = 1 g L −1 , (AgNO 3 ) = 35 and 70 mg L −1 ) to produce Ag-loaded CS coatings [47]. Ti 6 Al 4 V ELI disk-shaped substrates were used as the cathode in an EPD cell; electrodes were positioned at a distance of 10 mm [48,49] in a lab-made EPD cell [50] (Figure 1). Processing conditions were optimized in order to achieve a uniform, homogeneous, and consistent deposition of coatings (V = 15 V, T = 10 min).…”

Recapitulating Antioxidant and Antibacterial Compounds into a Package for Tissue Regeneration: Dual Function Materials with Synergistic Effect

“…Due to the complexity of tissue regeneration like local and systemic response and the variety of tissue‐dependent requirements, an up‐and‐coming biomaterial has a long journey full of impediments market. [ 2–4 ] The basic requirements are biocompatibility, bioactivity, desirable degradation rate in vivo, and appropriate physicochemical properties. [ 5,6 ] Besides these basic needs, there are other issues to be taken into account once a biomaterial has been implanted.…”

“…Due to the complexity of tissue regeneration like local and systemic response and the variety of tissue-dependent requirements, an up-and-coming biomaterial has a long journey full of impediments market. [2][3][4] The basic requirements are biocompatibility, bioactivity, desirable degradation Oxidative damage and infection can prevent or delay tissue repair. Moreover, infection reinforces reactive oxygen species (ROS) formation, which makes the wound's condition even worse.…”