Biomimetic Full-Thickness Artificial Skin Using Stromal Vascular Fraction Cells and Autologous Keratinocytes in a Single Scaffold for Wound Healing

TL;DR

Researchers created artificial skin using SVF cells and keratinocytes in a collagen scaffold, which could help heal wounds more effectively.

Contribution

A novel full-thickness artificial skin design using SVF cells and keratinocytes in a single scaffold with a gradient pore-density structure.

Findings

Collagen-elastin scaffolds retained higher structural integrity and showed greater tensile strength (4.2 N) compared to collagen-only scaffolds (2.2 N).

Cell viability for both keratinocytes and SVF cells remained high over seven days, reaching up to 97%.

The artificial skin design combines dermal and epidermal layers in a single scaffold for potential wound healing applications.

Abstract

We developed biomimetic full-thickness artificial skin using stromal vascular fraction (SVF) cells and autologous keratinocytes for the dermal and epidermal layers of skin, respectively. Full-thickness artificial skin scaffolds were fabricated using 4% porcine collagen and/or elastin in a low-temperature three-dimensional printer. Two types of scaffolds with collagen-to-elastin ratios of 100:0 and 100:4 were printed and compared. The scaffolds were analyzed for collagenase degradation, tensile strength, and structural features using scanning electron microscopy. By 24 h, the collagen-only scaffolds showed gradual degradation, and the collagen-elastin scaffolds retained the highest structural integrity but were not degraded. In the tensile strength tests, the collagen-only scaffolds exhibited a tensile strength of 2.2 N, while the collagen-elastin scaffolds showed a tensile strength of 4.2 N. Cell viability tests for keratinocytes displayed an initial viability of 89.32 ± 3.01% on day 1, which gradually increased to 97.22 ± 4.99% by day 7. Similarly, SVF cells exhibited a viability of 93.68 ± 1.82% on day 1, which slightly improved to 97.12 ± 1.64% on day 7. This study presents a novel strategy for full-thickness artificial skin development, combining SVF and keratinocytes with an optimized single collagen scaffold and a gradient pore-density structure.

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