Biodegradable piezoelectric skin-wound scaffold.

Area of Science:

• Biomaterials Science
• Regenerative Medicine
• Tissue Engineering

Background:

• Electrical stimulation (ES) aids wound healing but current methods are limited.
• Tissue engineering uses biomaterials for tissue replacement, offering potential for self-stimulated scaffolds.
• Existing ES technologies are either ineffective or unsafe due to external application or toxic batteries.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop a novel, safe, and effective wound healing strategy by integrating ES with tissue engineering.
• To create a biodegradable, self-charged piezoelectric scaffold for wound treatment.
• To utilize ultrasound (US) to activate the scaffold for controlled electrical stimulation.

Main Methods:

• Fabrication of a biodegradable, piezoelectric Poly (l-lactic acid) (PLLA) nanofiber matrix.
• Activation of the scaffold using low-intensity, low-frequency ultrasound (US).
• In vitro assessment of cell proliferation, gene expression (collagen I, III, fibronectin), and bacterial growth inhibition (S. aureus, P. aeruginosa).
• In vivo evaluation of skin regeneration in a critical-sized mouse wound model.

Main Results:

• The US-activated scaffold produced controlled surface charges for dual functions.
• Scaffold promoted fibroblast/epithelial cell proliferation and enhanced key wound healing gene expression in vitro.
• Simultaneous suppression of S. aureus and P. aeruginosa bacterial growth was observed in vitro.
• Rapid skin regeneration was achieved in vivo using the piezoelectric PLLA scaffold.

Conclusions:

• The developed piezoelectric PLLA scaffold acts as a multi-tasking, biodegradable, battery-free electrical stimulator.
• This approach offers a safe and effective method for simultaneous skin regeneration and bacterial infection prevention in wounds.
• The technology holds significant promise for advancing skin-wound healing treatments.