Department of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery, Shanghai 9th People's Hospital, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, 639 Zhi Zao Ju Rd, Shanghai, 200011, People's Republic of China.
Biomed Microdevices. 2010 Aug;12(4):627-35. doi: 10.1007/s10544-010-9415-4.
Collagen gel scaffolds can potentially be utilized as cell seeded systems for skin tissue engineering. However, its dramatic contraction after being mixed with cells and its mechanical weakness are the drawbacks for its application to skin engineering. In this study, a compressed collagen gel scaffold was fabricated through the rapid expulsion of liquid from reconstituted gels by the application of 'plastic compression'(PC) technique. Both compressed and uncompressed gels were characterized with their gel contraction rate, morphology, the viability of seeded cells, their mechanical properties and the feasibility as a scaffold for constructing tissue-engineered skin. The results showed that the compression could significantly reduce the contraction of the collagen gel and improve its mechanical property. In addition, seeded dermal fibroblasts survived well in the compressed gel and seeded epidermal cells gradually developed into a stratified epidermal layer, and thus formed tissue engineered skin. This study reveals the potential of using compressed collagen gel as a scaffold for skin engineering.
胶原凝胶支架可作为细胞接种系统用于皮肤组织工程。然而，在与细胞混合后，其剧烈收缩及其机械强度不足限制了其在皮肤工程中的应用。在本研究中，通过应用“塑性压缩”（PC）技术从重组凝胶中快速排出液体来制备压缩胶原凝胶支架。对压缩和未压缩的凝胶进行了凝胶收缩率、形态、接种细胞的活力、机械性能以及作为构建组织工程皮肤支架的可行性等方面的特征分析。结果表明，压缩可以显著减少胶原凝胶的收缩并改善其机械性能。此外，接种的真皮成纤维细胞在压缩凝胶中存活良好，接种的表皮细胞逐渐形成分层的表皮层，从而形成组织工程皮肤。本研究揭示了使用压缩胶原凝胶作为皮肤工程支架的潜力。
