Integration of Melt Electrowritten Polymeric Scaffolds and Bioprinting for Epithelial Healing via Localized Periostin Delivery

• Published in: ACS macro letters Vol. 13; no. 8; pp. 959 - 965
• Main Authors: Dubey, Nileshkumar, Rahimnejad, Maedeh, Swanson, W. Benton, Xu, Jinping, de Ruijter, Mylène, Malda, Jos, Squarize, Cristiane H., Castilho, Rogerio M., Bottino, Marco C.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States American Chemical Society 20-08-2024
• Subjects: Bioprinting - methods; Cell Adhesion Molecules - administration & dosage; Cell Proliferation - drug effects; Gelatin - chemistry; Humans; Hydrogels - chemistry; Methacrylates - chemistry; Nanoparticles - chemistry; Periostin; Polyesters - chemistry; Porosity; Tissue Scaffolds - chemistry; Wound Healing - drug effects
• ISSN: 2161-1653; 2161-1653
• DOI: 10.1021/acsmacrolett.4c00240

Management of skin injuries imposes a substantial financial burden on patients and hospitals, leading to diminished quality of life. Periostin (rhOSF), an extracellular matrix component, regulates cell function, including a proliferative healing phase, representing a key protein to promote wound healing. Despite its proven efficacy in vitro, there is a lack of scaffolds that facilitate the in situ delivery of rhOSF. In addition, there is a need for a scaffold to not only support cell growth, but also to resist the mechanical forces involved in wound healing. In this work, we synthesized rhOSF-loaded mesoporous nanoparticles (MSNs) and incorporated them into a cell-laden gelatin methacryloyl (GelMA) ink that was bioprinted into melt electrowritten poly­(ε-caprolactone) (PCL) microfibrous (MF-PCL) meshes to develop mechanically competent constructs. Diffraction light scattering (DLS) analysis showed a narrow nanoparticle size distribution with an average size of 82.7 ± 13.2 nm. The rhOSF-loaded hydrogels showed a steady and controlled release of rhOSF over 16 days at a daily dose of ∼40 ng/mL. Compared with blank MSNs, the incorporation of rhOSF markedly augmented cell proliferation, underscoring its contribution to cellular performance. Our findings suggest a promising approach to address challenges such as prolonged healing, offering a potential solution for developing robust, biocompatible, and cell-laden grafts for burn wound healing applications.