Injectable multifunctional hydrogel containing Sphingosine 1-phosphate and human acellular amniotic membrane for skin wound healing

Document Type : Original Article

Authors

1 School of Medicine, Shahroud University of Medical Sciences, Shahroud, Iran

2 Tissue Engineering and Stem Cells Research Center, Shahroud University of Medical Sciences, Shahroud, Iran

3 Department of Tissue Engineering, School of Medicine, Shahroud University of Medical Sciences, Shahroud, Iran

4 Department of Hematology, School of Allied Medical Sciences, Shahroud University of Medical Sciences, Shahroud, Iran

5 Department of Tissue Engineering and Applied Cell Sciences, School of Advanced Technologies in Medicine, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran

6 Department of Mechanical Engineering, New Jersey Institute of Technology, New Jersey, United States of America (USA)

7 Health Technology Incubator Center, Shahroud University of Medical Sciences, Shahroud, Iran

8 Sexual Health and Fertility Research Center, Shahroud University of Medical Sciences, Shahroud, Iran

Abstract

Objective(s): The skin serves as the main defense barrier, protecting against injuries, and preventing infection and water loss. Consequently, wound healing and skin regeneration are crucial aspects of wound management. A novel hydrogel scaffold was developed by incorporating carboxymethyl cellulose (CMC) and gelatin (Gel) hydrogels cross-linked with 1-(3-dimethylaminopropyl)-3-ethylcarbodiimide hydrochloride (EDC) containing Sphingosine 1-phosphate (S1P). This hydrogel is applied topically to treat acute wounds and is covered with a human acellular amniotic membrane (hAAM) as a secondary dressing. 
Materials and Methods: The scaffold was subjected to in vitro cell viability, red blood cell hemolysis, blood clotting index, and in vivo assays. Real-time PCR was implemented to verify the expression of genes involved in skin wounds. The physical and chemical properties of the scaffolds were also tested using weight loss, swelling ratio, scanning electron microscopy (SEM), Fourier transform infrared (FTIR), and mechanical tensile analysis. 
Results: The synthetic scaffold is biocompatible as evidenced by the high percentage of 3T3 cell viability (127%) after 72 hr. Additionally, excellent hemocompatibility with a low hemolytic effect (2.26%) was observed. Our in vivo wound healing assay demonstrated that CMC/Gel/S1P/hAAM wound dressing led to faster wound healing in treated rats compared to the control group over 14.
Also, the mechanical tests showed that the amniotic membrane and the hAAM had very different Young’s modulus and elongation at break values.
Conclusion: This study demonstrates the effectiveness of the CMC/Gel/EDC hydrogel with S1P as a wound dressing. Additionally, hAAM exhibits excellent characteristics as a protective layer for the treatment of acute wounds.

Keywords

Main Subjects


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