Preparation and In Vitro Evaluation of Electrochemically-Aligned Collagen Matrix as a Dermal Substitute
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Preparation and In Vitro Evaluation of Electrochemically-Aligned Collagen Matrix as a Dermal Substitute XingGuo Cheng1, Nicole Edwards1,2, Kelly Leung3, David Zhang3, Robert J. Christy4 1 Southwest Research Institute, 6220 Culebra Rd, San Antonio, TX 78238, U.S.A. 2 University of Texas at San Antonio, One University Circle, TX 78249, U.S.A. 3 Rochal Industries LLC, 12719 Cranes ML, San Antonio 78230, U.S.A. 4 US Army Institute of Surgical Research, 3698 Chambers Pass Suite B., Fort Sam Houston, TX, 78234, U.S.A. ABSTRACT Due to injuries and disease, there is a great need for a robust, biocompatible, biodegradable, skin-like dermal substitute to repair and regenerate damaged or lost skin. A novel electrochemical process was used to fabricate planarly aligned, densely packed collagen-based sheet which closely mimics the major structure of collagen in skin. The collagen matrix was characterized by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), oxygen permeation, moisture vapor transmission rate (MVTR), and mechanical strength. The seeding and proliferation of adipose derived stem cells (ADSCs) on the matrix was also evaluated. The results indicate that electrochemically-aligned collagen matrix has good MVTR, superior oxygen permeability, and is robust and biocompatible. Thus, it will be evaluated in vivo in the near future as a dermal substitute material. INTRODUCTION The market value for skin replacement material and dressings in the US is more than $5 billion annually and is increasing due to the aging population. Each year there are approximately 100,000 burn injuries, 600,000 leg ulcers, and 600,000 surgical skin excisions in the US alone 1, 2 . Skin autograft resources are costly and limited and may be impossible for large-area and/or deep wounds. Allograft or xenografts are inferior to autografts, the gold standard. The demand for a clinically efficient and economic synthetic wound healing product is substantial. Collagen sheets used for wound healing have been pursued for several decades, as collagen is the major component of skin and it has the advantages of low or no immune reaction, good cell and tissue attachment, no toxicity, and hemostatic and non-antigenic properties. However, the conventionally made collagen matrix is in the form of a random foam structure which does not closely mimic the structure, orientation, and packing density of collagen in natural skin. For natural skin, the collagen molecules form small and homogenous fibrils aligned mostly parallel to the surface of the skin (planarly oriented) so that they are able to sustain hightensile stretch in multiple directions 3. The densely packed and oriented collagen primarily account for its mechanical integrity and stiffness. Here, an electrochemical process is used to fabricate planarly aligned, densely packed, large (up to 10 cm ×10 cm) collagen sheet where the diameter and orientation of collagen nanofibril closely mimic those in skin. Based on characterization of the electrochemically-aligned collagen matrix by SEM, oxygen permeation, and moisture vapor t
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