Three-Dimensionally Printed Silk-Sericin-Based Hydrogel Scaffold: A Promising Visualized Dressing Material for Real-Time Monitoring of Wounds

• DOI: 10.1021/acsami.8b10072
• Publication Date: 2018-09-11T20:56:37Z
• Authors: Chang-Sheng Chen; Fei Zeng; Xiao Xiao; Zhen Wang; Xiao-Li Li; Rong-Wei Tan; Wei-Qiang Liu; Ye-Shun Zhang; Zhen-Ding She; Song-Jian Li
• Keywords: Wound Healing; Tissue Scaffolds; Hydrogels; 02 engineering and technology; Bandages; Coculture Techniques; Cell Line; Mice; Materials Testing; Printing, Three-Dimensional; Cell Adhesion; Animals; Humans; Wounds and Injuries; Sericins; 0210 nano-technology; Porosity

A wound dressing which can be convenient for real-time monitoring of wounds is particularly attractive and user-friendly. In this study, a nature-originated silk-sericin-based (SS-based) transparent hydrogel scaffold was prepared and evaluated for the visualization of wound care. The scaffold was fabricated from a hybrid interpenetrating-network (IPN) hydrogel composed of SS and methacrylic-anhydride-modified gelatin (GelMA) by 3D printing. The scaffold transformed into a highly transparent hydrogel upon swelling in PBS, and thus, anything underneath could be easily read. The scaffold had a high degree of swelling and presented a regularly macroporous structure with pores around 400 μm × 400 μm, which can help maintain the moist and apinoid environment for wound healing. Meanwhile, the scaffolds were conducive to adhesion and proliferation of L929 cells. A coculture of HaCaT and HSF cells on the scaffold showed centralized proliferation of the two cells in distributed layers, respectively, denoting a promising comfortable environment for re-epithelialization. Moreover, in vivo studies demonstrated that the scaffold showed no excessive inflammatory reaction. In short, this work presented an SS-based transparent hydrogel scaffold with steerable physical properties and excellent biocompatibility through 3D printing, pioneering promising applications in the visualization of wound care and drug delivery.