A Novel Patient-Specific 3D Bio-Printed Wound Dressing Incorporated With Platelet-Rich Plasma

IntroductionThe wound healing process in chronic ulcers face with various complications and usually needs special medical care. Very recently, three dimensional (3D) bioprinting strategies have been introduced in regenerative medicine because of their capability to produce complex patient-specific bioengineered constructs with biological components. Alginate, a natural polysaccharide, has been used commonly in the management of chronic wounds due to its absorbent property beside biocompatibility and biodegradability. The importance of different growth factors (GFs) on the wound healing process also has led physicians to use patient platelet-rich plasma (PRP) as an effective ingredient to aid wound healing.At first, we developed a bio-ink consist of Alginate (Alg) and Gelatin (Gel) included PRP with optimal printability. This combination provides a biodegradable and biocompatible substrate that can manage wound exudate, support cell attachment, proliferation, and can act as a reservoir for growth factors available in PRP. The addition of PRP introduces soluble factors normally found in the early inflammatory stages of wound healing, allowing the chronic wounds to restart the healing process and facilitates angiogenesis and tissue regeneration. Materials and MethodsThe bio-ink prepared with different compositions of sodium alginate, gelatin, and PRP to achieve a printable ink. At the next step, a mesh-like structure was printed with BioFab X4 bio-printer and used for further evaluations. The cytotoxicity of optimized composition was assessed by MTT assay. Water uptake and degradation rate of printed constructs and the release profile of growth factors were also investigated in SBF. ResultsResults of MTT assay demonstrated that the proposed composition has no cytotoxicity after 72 hours. In water uptake evaluation, the printed dressings showed significant swelling ratio during the first 48h. The release of growth factors at that time increased as water uptake increased and reached a sustained rate. Degradation analysis also showed that the printed meshes are stable for at least 1 week.ConclusionIn this study, a 3D printed biodegradable Alg-Gel scaffold was developed for wound dressing applications. The presence of Alg in this dressings can manage the wound exudates and also facilitate the release of growth factors at the same time. Beside the Alg, gelatin provides good printability and appropriate cell attachment and proliferation that are necessary for wound healing and skin regeneration. The results show that more studies on this patient-specific wound dressings can be promising in the treatment of chronic and hard to heal wounds.

کلیدواژه ها:

3D bioprinting ، bio-ink design ، wound dressing ، growth factor ، platelet-rich plasma