Nanofibrous mat for tissue engineering, wound dressing and dermal reconstitution

Abstract

The current design requirement for a tissue engineering (TE) skin substitute is that of a biodegradable scaffold through which fibroblasts can migrate and populate. This artificial a??dermal layera?? needs to adhere and integrate to the wound, which is not always successful for the current artificial dermal analogues available (e.g. IntegraA?, DermagraftA? or TransCyteA?). The high cost of these artificial dermal analogues also makes its application prohibitive both to surgeons and patients. We would like to propose a cost-effective composite consisting of a nanofibrous scaffold directly electrospun onto a polyurethane dressing (Tegaderma??, 3M Medical) - to be known as the TG-NF construct - for dermal wound healing. Cell culture will also be performed on both sides of the nanofibrous scaffold and tested for fibroblast adhesion and proliferation. It is hoped that these studies will result in a fibroblast populated three-dimensional dermal analogue that is feasible for layered applications to build up thickness of dermis prior to re-epithelialisation. Results obtained in this study suggest that both the TG-NF construct and dual-sided fibroblasts populated nanofiber construct, achieved significant cell adhesion, growth and proliferation results. This is a successful first step for the nanofiber construct in establishing itself as a suitable three-dimensional scaffold for autogenous fibroblasts population, and provides great potential in the treatment of dermal wounds through layered application.