title: Toward a skin-material interface with vacuum-integrated capped macroporous scaffolds.
abstract: Avulsion, epidermal marsupialization, and infection cause failure at the skin-material interface. A robust interface would permit implantable robotics, prosthetics, and other medical devices; reconstruction of surgical defects, and long-term access to blood vessels and body cavities. Torus-shaped cap-scaffold structures were designed to work in conjunction with negative pressure to address the three causes of failure. Six wounds were made on the backs of each of four 3-month old pigs. Four unmodified (no caps) scaffolds were implanted along with 20 cap-scaffolds. Collagen type 4 was attached to 21 implants. Negative pressure then was applied. Structures were explanted and assessed histologically at day 7 and day 28. At day 28, there was close tissue apposition to scaffolds, without detectable reactions from defensive or interfering cells. Three cap-scaffolds explanted at day 28 showed likely attachment of epidermis to the cap or cap-scaffold junction, without deeper marsupialization. The combination of toric-shaped cap-scaffolds with negative pressure appears to be an intrinsically biocompatible system, enabling a robust skin-material interface. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Biomed Mater Res Part B: Appl Biomater, 105B: 1307-1318, 2017.
authors.affiliation: Barwon Biomedical Research, University Hospital Geelong, Geelong, Victoria, Australia.|Department of Surgery, St Vincent's Hospital, University of Melbourne, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia.|Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia.|Institute for Frontier Materials, Deakin University, Geelong, Victoria, Australia.
authors.forename: Gil D
authors.initials: GD
authors.lastname: Stynes
authors.affiliation: Barwon Biomedical Research, University Hospital Geelong, Geelong, Victoria, Australia.|Queen Elizabeth Hospital, The University of Adelaide, Adelaide, South Australia, Australia.
authors.forename: George K
authors.initials: GK
authors.lastname: Kiroff
authors.affiliation: Department of Surgery, St Vincent's Hospital, University of Melbourne, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia.
authors.forename: Wayne A
authors.initials: WA
authors.lastname: Morrison
authors.affiliation: School of Medicine, Deakin University, Geelong, Victoria, Australia.
authors.forename: Richard S
authors.initials: RS
authors.lastname: Page
authors.affiliation: Barwon Biomedical Research, University Hospital Geelong, Geelong, Victoria, Australia.|Institute for Frontier Materials, Deakin University, Geelong, Victoria, Australia.
authors.forename: Mark A
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Kirkland
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D024141:Collagen Type IV / Q000378:metabolism*; D004817:Epidermis / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000473:pathology; D005260:Female; D020007:Implants, Experimental; D016062:Porosity; D013552:Swine; D054457:Tissue Scaffolds; D014618:Vacuum
chemical_list: D024141:Collagen Type IV
keywords: cell-material interactions; implant design; implant interface; percutaneous; scaffolds