The Effect of Tissue-Engineered Wound Dressing Comprising Copper, on the Healing Process of Full-Thickness Wound in Mouse Model

Abstract

Background: Production of skin dressings or substitutes is one of the most important tissue engineering fields. Since copper is an important agent in skin extracellular matrix synthesis, we investigated the effect of collagen-gelatin-bioglass scaffolds containing copper in accelerating the healing process of full-thickness skin wound in mouse model. Methods: We used 12 mice with two identical skin wounds on their back (with 5 mm diameter, circular, and full-thickness), one wound as control, second dressed with collagen-gelatin-bioglass scaffold, and third dressed with collagen-gelatin-bioglass scaffold containing copper. After 14 days, the wound healing process was analyzed using both macroscopic and microscopic (after hematoxylin and eosin staining) methods. Findings: The wound dressings had porous structure, and were biocompatible. They improved the healing process of full-thickness wound in mouse model. This process was statistically much better in the dressings comprising copper (P < 0.05). Conclusion: Since wounds dressed with collagen-gelatin-bioglass scaffold containing copper improved wound healing in animal models, it can be suggested as a new approach in design and synthesis of wound dressings for human.

Keywords

• Wound dressing
• Tissue engineering
• Bioglass
• Copper