Preparation of collagen/gelatin sponge scaffold for sustained release of bFGF

Tissue Eng Part A. 2008 Oct;14(10):1629-38. doi: 10.1089/ten.tea.2007.0215.

Abstract

Artificial dermis (AD) has been used to regenerate dermis-like tissues in the treatment of full-thickness skin defects, but it takes 2 or 3 weeks to complete dermal regeneration. Our previous study demonstrated that injection of basic fibroblast growth factor (bFGF)-impregnated gelatin microspheres (MS) into the AD accelerates the regeneration of dermis-like tissue. However, injection of gelatin MS before clinical use is complicated and time consuming. This study investigated a new scaffold, in which collagen and gelatin are integrated, and which is capable of sustained bFGF release. We produced collagen/gelatin sponges with a gelatin concentration of 0wt%, 10wt%, 30wt%, and 50wt%. The mean pore size in each sponge decreased with the gelatin concentration. In an in vitro study, proliferation of fibroblasts in each sponge was not significantly different over 7 days of culture. As for in vivo sustained release of bFGF, a radioisotope study demonstrated that retention of bFGF in gelatin 10wt% and 30wt% sponges was significantly larger than that in gelatin 0wt% sponge. The collagen/gelatin sponges were grafted on full-thickness skin defects created on a rabbit ear, and we evaluated regeneration of dermis-like tissue by measuring the amount of hemoglobin and size of dermis-like tissue on histological sections. Seven days after implantation, the amount of hemoglobin in dermis-like tissue in gelatin 10wt% sponge was significantly larger than those in control and gelatin 50wt% sponge. Twenty-eight days after implantation, the area of dermis-like tissue in gelatin 10wt% sponge was significantly larger than those in the other specimens. We conclude that the collagen sponge integrated with 10wt% gelatin has the most potential for sustained release of bFGF and that the combination of collagen/gelatin 10wt% sponge and bFGF is a promising therapeutic modality for the treatment of full-thickness skin defects.

MeSH terms

  • Animals
  • Biocompatible Materials / chemistry*
  • Cell Proliferation
  • Collagen / chemistry*
  • Fibroblast Growth Factor 2 / chemistry
  • Fibroblast Growth Factor 2 / metabolism*
  • Fibroblasts / cytology
  • Fibroblasts / metabolism*
  • Fibroblasts / ultrastructure
  • Gelatin / chemistry*
  • Male
  • Microscopy, Electron, Scanning
  • Microspheres
  • Rabbits
  • Skin Transplantation / methods
  • Tissue Engineering / methods*

Substances

  • Biocompatible Materials
  • Fibroblast Growth Factor 2
  • Gelatin
  • Collagen