Electrospun Photocrosslinkable Hydrogel Fibrous Scaffolds for Rapid In Vivo Vascularized Skin Flap Regeneration |
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| Authors: | Xiaoming Sun Qi Lang Hongbo Zhang Liying Cheng Ying Zhang Guoqing Pan Xin Zhao Huilin Yang Yuguang Zhang Hélder A Santos Wenguo Cui |
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| Affiliation: | 1. Department of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery, Shanghai Ninth People's Hospital Affiliated to Shanghai Jiaotong University of Medicine, Shanghai, China;2. Institute of Biomedicine and Biotechnology, Shenzhen Institutes of Advanced Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shenzhen, Guangdong, P. R.China;3. Division of Pharmaceutical Chemistry and Technology, Faculty of Pharmacy, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland;4. Department of Pharmaceutical Science, ?bo Akademi University, Turku, Finland;5. Department of Orthopedics, the First Affiliated Hospital of Soochow University Orthopedic Institute, Soochow University, Suzhou, Jiangsu, China;6. School of Life Science and Technology, Xi'an Jiaotong University, Xi'an, Shaanxi, P. R. China |
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| Abstract: | Distal necrosis of random skin flap is always clinical problematic in plastic surgery. The development of 3D functional vascular networks is fundamental for the survival of a local random skin flap. Herein, an effective technique on constructing 3D fibrous scaffolds for accelerated vascularization is demonstrated using a photocrosslinkable natural hydrogel based on gelatin methacryloyl (GelMA) by electrospinning. It is found that the ultraviolet (UV) photocrosslinkable gelatin electrospun hydrogel fibrous membranes exhibit soft adjustable mechanical properties and controllable degradation properties. Furthermore, it is observed that the optimized hydrogel scaffolds can support endothelial cells and dermal fibroblasts adhesion, proliferation, and migration into the scaffolds, which facilitates vascularization. Importantly, a rapid formation of tubes is observed after 3 d seeding of endothelial cells. After GelMA fibrous scaffold implantation below the skin flap in a rat model, it is found that the flap survival rate is higher than the control group, and there is more microvascular formation, which is potentially beneficial for the flap tissue vascularization. These data suggest that GelMA hydrogels can be used for biomedical applications that require the formation of microvascular networks, including the development of complex engineered tissues. |
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| Keywords: | gelatin methacryloyl photocrosslinkable hydrogels random skin flap soft elasticity vascularization |
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