Title | Engineered hydrogel-based matrices for skin wound healing |
Publication Type | Book Chapter |
Year of Publication | 2016 |
Authors | da Silva L. P., Cerqueira M. T., Correlo V. M., Reis R. L., and Marques A. P. |
Editors | Agren M. S. |
Abstract Text | Hydrogels, due to their hygroscopic nature, have been widely used as wound dressings. Because hydrogels resemble native extracellular matrix (ECM), newer developments aim at recreating three-dimensional ECM-like microenvironments. In general, current hydrogels show limited molecular diffusion and cell binding sites. Spongy-like hydrogels, based on gellan gum polysaccharide, produced by a sequential advanced processing methodology, reunite the benefits of hydrogels along with the capacity to control specific cell behavior. These structures can be stored as dried networks that after re-hydration with a solution containing cells and/or bioactive molecules form the spongy-like hydrogels. Spongy-like hydrogels show improved physical stability, flexibility, viscoelasticity and facilitated manipulation in the incorporation of bioactive molecules and/or cells, in comparison to traditional hydrogels. These characteristics make spongy-like hydrogels attractive for skin regeneration purposes. In this chapter we present the work leading to spongy-like hydrogels, highlighting the possibility of fine-tuning their properties, effects of incorporating hyaluronic acid, stem cells and adult skin cells to meet the demands of specific wound types. |
Book Title | Wound Healing Biomaterials |
Volume | 2 |
Edition | 1st |
Chapter | 11 |
Date | 2016-06-02 |
Publisher | Elsevier |
DOI | 10.1016/B978-1-78242-456-7.00011-8 |
Keywords | Hydrogels, skin tissue engineering, spongy-like hydrogels, Wound healing |
Rights | openAccess |
Peer reviewed | yes |
Status | published |