title: In vitro and in vivo evaluation of electrospun nanofibers of PCL, chitosan and gelatin: a comparative study.
abstract: Many polymers have been investigated with respect to their use in skin tissue engineering. However, directly comparable data on the role played by different polymers in assisting skin wound healing requires their in vitro and in vivo evaluation under the same conditions. Therefore, we performed a study in order to compare the performance of electrospun nanofiber mats from three different polymers concerning cell-scaffold interaction and wound healing promotion. A polyester (polycaprolactone, PCL), a protein (gelatin from cold water fish skin, GEL) and a polysaccharide (chitosan, CS) were the polymers chosen. Gelatin nanofibers were crosslinked with glutaraldehyde vapor. The scaffolds were characterized physico-chemically, in vitro by seeding with human fetal fibroblasts, HFFF2, and used in vivo as skin substitutes in a rat wound model with total skin removal. In vitro tests revealed that cells adhered and proliferated in all scaffolds. However, cells deep into the scaffold were only observed in the PCL and CS scaffolds. In in vivo tests CS scaffolds had the highest impact on the healing process by decreasing the extent of wound contraction and enhancing the production of a neodermis and re-epithelialization of the wound.
authors.affiliation: Centro de Física e Investigação Tecnológica/Departamento de Física Faculdade de Ciências e Tecnologia da Universidade Nova de Lisboa, 2829-516 Caparica, Portugal. Electronic address: srrg@campus.fct.unl.pt.
authors.forename: S R
authors.initials: SR
authors.lastname: Gomes
authors.affiliation: Centro de Biologia Ambiental/Departamento de Biologia Animal Faculdade de Ciências da Universidade de Lisboa, Campo Grande, 1749-016 Lisboa, Portugal.
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Rodrigues
authors.affiliation: Centro de Biologia Ambiental/Departamento de Biologia Animal Faculdade de Ciências da Universidade de Lisboa, Campo Grande, 1749-016 Lisboa, Portugal; Instituto Gulbenkian de Ciência, R. da Quinta Grande, 6, 2780-156 Oeiras, Portugal.
authors.forename: G G
authors.initials: GG
authors.lastname: Martins
authors.affiliation: Departamento de Cirurgia Plástica e Reconstrutiva e Unidade de Queimados, Hospital de São José, Rua José António Serrano, 1150-199 Lisboa, Portugal.
authors.forename: M A
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Roberto
authors.affiliation: Serviço de Anatomia Patológica, Hospital de São José, Rua José António Serrano, 1150-199 Lisboa, Portugal.
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Mafra
authors.affiliation: Centro de Física e Investigação Tecnológica/Departamento de Física Faculdade de Ciências e Tecnologia da Universidade Nova de Lisboa, 2829-516 Caparica, Portugal.
authors.forename: C M R
authors.initials: CM
authors.lastname: Henriques
authors.affiliation: Centro de Física e Investigação Tecnológica/Departamento de Física Faculdade de Ciências e Tecnologia da Universidade Nova de Lisboa, 2829-516 Caparica, Portugal. Electronic address: jcs@fct.unl.pt.
authors.forename: J C
authors.initials: JC
authors.lastname: Silva
mesh_terms: D048271:Chitosan / Q000737:chemistry*; D005780:Gelatin / Q000737:chemistry*; D006801:Humans; D066298:In Vitro Techniques; D008855:Microscopy, Electron, Scanning; D057139:Nanofibers; D011091:Polyesters / Q000737:chemistry*; D054457:Tissue Scaffolds
chemical_list: D011091:Polyesters; C016240:polycaprolactone; D005780:Gelatin; D048271:Chitosan
keywords: Chitosan; Electrospinning; Fibroblasts; Fish gelatin; Polycaprolactone; Skin substitute; Wound healing