Tissue regeneration by use of collagen-glycosaminoglycan copolymers

Simple chemical analogs of extracellular matrices have been synthesized by graft copolymerization of a glycosaminoglycan on to type I collagen. A few of these collagen-graft-glycosaminoglycan copolymers (CG copolymers) have diverted decisively the kinetics and mechanism of skin wound healing in animals and humans away from contraction and scar synthesis, towards the direction of skin regeneration. Detailed animal studies show that CG copolymers show maximum biological activity when the average pore diameter and the degradation rate in collagenase are controlled within critical limits. When seeded with a minimum number of cells these active copolymers induce regeneration of skin, including synthesis of a new epidermis and a new dermis in the correct anatomical relationship. Certain unseeded copolymers have also induced regeneration of peripheral nerve. Another copolymer has induced regeneration of the knee meniscus. The unusual biological activity of these copolymers has led to extensive, successful clinical testing of novel medical devices for the treatment of skin loss with severely burned patients.