Development of nanofibrous collagen-grafted poly (vinyl alcohol)/gelatin/alginate scaffolds as potential skin substitute.

The main objective of this work is to fabricate a nanofibrous scaffold to regenerate skin tissue. A scaffold composed of poly (vinyl alcohol)/gelatin/alginate was prepared using electrospinning method. To improve scaffold biocompatibility and wound healing properties, collagen, extracted from rat tail, was grafted on as-prepared nanofibers. The prepared scaffolds were characterized by SEM, FTIR, swelling ratio test, and water vapor transmission rate (WVTR) measurement. Cytotoxicity of the scaffolds against human fibroblasts and L929 (NCBI C161) cells were tested using direct and indirect methods, respectively. Fibroblast cell adhesion and proliferation on the scaffold were also investigated. Results of morphological studies showed that beadless nanofibers with 229 nm diameter were prepared. ATR-FTIR spectra of collagen grafted nanofiber mats confirmed presence of the collagen on their surface. Collagen grafted nanofibers showed higher swelling ratio than nanofibers without collagen graft. Collagen grafting decreased VWTR. Collagen grafting decreased both tensile strength and Young's modulus of the nanofibrous scaffolds while increased their elongation at break. MTT results showed that both scaffolds are biocompatible with higher cell viability for nanofibers with collagen grafting. Fibroblast cell culture on the scaffolds demonstrated that both of scaffolds have good cell viability and proliferation while collagen grafted scaffold showed better results.