When injury compromises the skin, wound healing is initiated by signaling cells surrounding the wound site. The resulting migration and proliferation of fibroblasts and keratinocytes are key factors that can determine the success of the wound healing process, as these cells are responsible for the reconstruction of skin and the closure of the wound. However, in chronic or diabetic wounds, poor blood circulation and undermined immune responses impairs crosstalk between cells, leading to diminished recruitment of necessary cells to the lesion. To address these problems, short peptides that can promote wound healing and are also less susceptible to proteolytic degradation have become attractive options for facilitating skin regeneration. Herein, post-fabrication of RGD is conjugated on polymer surfaces via Cu-free click reactions. The concentration of the peptides on the surface was quantified by fluorescence spectroscopy. Increased concentrations of RGD on the polymer surfaces have resulted in enhanced migration of human dermal fibroblasts. Furthermore, 3D-printed, RGD-conjugated scaffolds were implanted in an excisional wound rat model. Despite no significant difference during the progression of wound healing over the course of 27 days, the higher granulation area at Day 6 may imply enhanced recruitment of fibroblasts in the early stage. Since the outcomes for both control scaffolds and RGD-conjugated scaffolds do not show adverse effects in wound healing, this encourages us to further explore how different functional polymers affect the immune responses in the wound healing cascade.

Post-fabrication RGD-functionalized 3D-printed scaffolds for migration of human dermal fibroblasts and their application in excisional wound rat model

ACS Spring 2022

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