PLLA from PolySciTech used in development of biodegradable tissue scaffold for skin repair

Tissue healing is a complex process by which damaged or lost tissues are replaced by new tissue. To grow, the cells of the body must have something to adhere too. In normal situations this is called the extracellular matrix which is a layer of proteins and connective components which is present between cells. In cases of severe trauma (i.e. burn wounds) there may not be any connective components to enable the cells to regrow which prevents healing in these cases. In this case, the healing can be improved by use of a tissue scaffold. Recently, researchers at Czech Academy of Sciences, Charles University, Slovak Academy of Sciences, and Technical University of Liberec (Czech Republic) used PLLA (AP047) from PolySciTech (www.polyscitech.com) to generate a skin construct to use in tissue repair. This research holds promise to provide for improved therapy for burn-wound and trauma victims who need scaffolds for skin repair. Read more: Bacakova, Marketa, Julia Pajorova, Antonin Broz, Daniel Hadraba, Frantisek Lopot, Anna Zavadakova, Lucie Vistejnova et al. "A two-layer skin construct consisting of a collagen hydrogel reinforced by a fibrin-coated polylactide nanofibrous membrane." International Journal of Nanomedicine 14 (2019): 5033. http://search.proquest.com/openview/f9c9c6368aada3b8497b393332207137/1?pq-origsite=gscholar&cbl=3933144

“Background: Repairs to deep skin wounds continue to be a difficult issue in clinical practice. A promising approach is to fabricate full-thickness skin substitutes with functions closely similar to those of the natural tissue. For many years, a three-dimensional (3D) collagen hydrogel has been considered to provide a physiological 3D environment for cocultivation of skin fibroblasts and keratinocytes. This collagen hydrogel is frequently used for fabricating tissue-engineered skin analogues with fibroblasts embedded inside the hydrogel and keratinocytes cultivated on its surface. Despite its unique biological properties, the collagen hydrogel has insufficient stiffness, with a tendency to collapse under the traction forces generated by the embedded cells. Methods: The aim of our study was to develop a two-layer skin construct consisting of a collagen hydrogel reinforced by a nanofibrous poly-L-lactide (PLLA) membrane pre-seeded with fibroblasts. The attractiveness of the membrane for dermal fibroblasts was enhanced by coating it with a thin nanofibrous fibrin mesh. Results: The fibrin mesh promoted the adhesion, proliferation and migration of the fibroblasts upwards into the collagen hydrogel. Moreover, the fibroblasts spontaneously migrating into the collagen hydrogel showed a lower tendency to contract and shrink the hydrogel by their traction forces. The surface of the collagen was seeded with human dermal keratinocytes. The keratinocytes were able to form a basal layer of highly mitotically-active cells, and a suprabasal layer. Conclusion: The two-layer skin construct based on collagen hydrogel with spontaneously immigrated fibroblasts and reinforced by a fibrin-coated nanofibrous membrane seems to be promising for the construction of full-thickness skin substitute. Keywords: full-thickness skin substitutes, collagen hydrogel, fibroblast and keratinocyte cocultivation, fibrin, nanostructure”

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