Portable Bioprinter in Ischemic Wound Therapy: a Pilot Study

TL;DR

A portable bioprinter using a special ink with cell spheroids significantly improved healing of ischemic wounds in pigs.

Contribution

A novel portable bioprinter and bioink combining fibrin-gelatin hydrogel with adipose-derived MSC spheroids for ischemic wound therapy.

Findings

The bioink with MSC spheroids significantly accelerated wound healing compared to controls.

Complete restoration of all skin layers was observed by day 36 in treated wounds.

The passive mixer maintained cell viability and enabled effective ink application.

Abstract

The aim of the study was to develop a novel approach to treatment of non-healing wounds by using a portable Biogan bioprinter and an ink based on fibrin-gelatin hydrogel and spheroids derived from mesenchymal stromal cells (MSCs) from adipose tissue in a model of ischemic pig wound.

To simulate the wound, titanium sealing rings were used, which mechanically compressed the skin to create a local ischemic wound. A day after, the rings were removed, and the epidermis of the skin was excised. The wound was treated one day and 2 weeks after the wound infliction. For this purpose, a combined ink was applied to the wound surface using a portable Biogan bioprinter (the prototype was developed by the authors). An adapted passive mixer allowed uniform mixing of the bioink based on a fibrin-gelatin hydrogel and spheroids derived from human adipose MSCs. Wound closure rates were assessed over 36 days, followed by histological analysis.

The use of inks based on fibrin-gelatin hydrogel and spheroids from adipose MSCs significantly accelerated healing, as evidenced by the reduction in the wound area compared to the control group and hydrogel-only group, as well as the complete restoration of all skin layers by day 36. The therapeutic effect of the developed approach was due to the spheroids in the bioinks and not to the hydrogel. The use of the developed mixer did not reduce the cell viability and ensured convenient ink application to the wound surface.

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