In-vitro and in-vivo hemostat evaluation of decellularized liver extra cellular matrix loaded chitosan/gelatin spongy scaffolds for liver injury

Multifunctional Layered HPMC/PCL-59S Bioactive Glass Patches for Improved In Vivo Wound Healing with Potent Anti-Inflammatory and Angiogenic Effects

Effective wound healing requires multifunctional biomaterials that support rapid tissue regeneration while providing structural integrity, biocompatibility, and therapeutic functionality. The successful fabrication of stacked patches was achieved through spin coating and electrospinning techniques, ensuring precise layering and seamless integration of Hydroxypropyl Methylcellulose (HPMC), Polycaprolactone (PCL), and 59S Bioglass (BG). The homogeneous dissolution of HPMC and PCL in the trisolvent mixture played a crucial role in achieving a uniform solution, facilitating the formation of well-structured layers. This integration enhanced the composite's structural and functional properties, with FESEM revealing a fibrous morphology and distinct layer differentiation. Degradation studies showed consistent weight loss in CP, CPD, and stacked patches over time particularly during the first 3 days, highlighting their stability. The stacked mat exhibited desirable mechanical properties with distinct elastic, strain-hardening, and fracture regions, achieving a tensile strength of 6.14 MPa and sufficient flexibility. Rapid degradation of the CB patches within 1 day emphasized the necessity of layer integration. The stacked patches exhibited superior biocompatibility with a reduced hemolysis rate (0.282%) and sustained metformin release over 3 days, crucial for inflammation management and tissue regeneration. The combination of HPMC/bioglass and HPMC/PCL/metformin demonstrated significant anti-inflammatory effects, inhibiting COX, LOX, MPO, and iNOS activities while reducing nitrite levels. Additionally, assays indicated a proliferation rate exceeding 90%, enhanced cell viability, angiogenesis, and antibacterial activity underscoring the stacked patches potential for wound healing. The combined attributes of structural stability, biocompatibility, efficient drug release, and anti-inflammatory efficacy represent a notable advancement in wound care with the potential to expedite the healing process. The in vivo studies demonstrated that the stacked patches significantly expedited wound closure, leading to full healing within 14 days. Histological evaluation evidently revealed enhanced tissue regeneration, characterized by rapid re-epithelialization, enhanced collagen formation, as well as increased vascularization, while also displaying a notable reduction in inflammation. Moreover, the lack of histopathological abnormalities in the examined organs obviously confirms their biocompatibility, reinforcing their suitability as a promising multifunctional biomaterial for advanced wound healing applications.

Degradation-controlled tissue extracellular sponge for rapid hemostasis and wound repair after kidney injury

Patients diagnosed with T1a cancer undergo partial nephrectomy to remove the tumors. In the process of removing the tumors, loss of kidney volume is inevitable, and current surgical methods focus solely on hemostasis and wound closure. Here, we developed an implantable form of decellularized extracellular matrix sponge to target both hemostasis and wound healing at the lesion site. A porous form of kidney decellularized matrix was achieved by fabricating a chemically cross-linked cryogel followed by lyophilization. The prepared kidney decellularized extracellular matrix sponge (kdES) was then characterized for features relevant to a hemostasis as well as a biocompatible and degradable biomaterial. Finally, histological evaluations were made after implantation in rat kidney incision model. Both gelatin sponge and kdES displayed excellent hemocompatibility and biocompatibility. However, after a 4-week observation period, kdES exhibited more favorable wound healing results at the lesion site. This suggests a promising potential for kdES as a supportive material in facilitating wound closure during partial nephrectomy surgery. KdES not only achieved rapid hemostasis for managing renal hemorrhage that is comparable to commercial hemostatic sponges, but also demonstrated superior wound healing outcomes.

Porosity controlled soya protein isolate-polyethylene oxide multifunctional dual membranes as smart wound dressings

Multifunctional membranes S7P0.7, S7P3.0, and dual membranes composed of soya protein isolate (SPI) and polyethylene oxide (PEO) were produced for wound dressing applications. The internal structure of the membranes was confirmed by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) to be homogeneous and coarser with a porous-like network. S7P3.0 showed the tensile strength of 0.78 ± 0.04 MPa. In the absence of antibiotics, the dual membrane (combination of S7P0.7 and S7P3.0) exhibited potential antibacterial activity against Escherichia coli (Gram-negative) and Staphylococcus aureus (Gram-positive) bacteria. Hemolysis quantitative data presented in the image demonstrates that all samples exhibited hemolysis levels below 5 %. Dual membrane showed 77.93 ± 9.5 % blood uptake which reflects its absorption capacity. The combination of S7P0.7 and S7P3.0 influenced the dual membrane's antibacterial, biocompatibility, and good hemolytic potentials. The dual membranes' promising histology features after implantation suggest they could be used as wound dressings.

Decellularized extracellular matrix-based composite scaffolds for tissue engineering and regenerative medicine

Despite the considerable advancements in fabricating polymeric-based scaffolds for tissue engineering, the clinical transformation of these scaffolds remained a big challenge because of the difficulty of simulating native organs/tissues' microenvironment. As a kind of natural tissue-derived biomaterials, decellularized extracellular matrix (dECM)-based scaffolds have gained attention due to their unique biomimetic properties, providing a specific microenvironment suitable for promoting cell proliferation, migration, attachment and regulating differentiation. The medical applications of dECM-based scaffolds have addressed critical challenges, including poor mechanical strength and insufficient stability. For promoting the reconstruction of damaged tissues or organs, different types of dECM-based composite platforms have been designed to mimic tissue microenvironment, including by integrating with natural polymer or/and syntenic polymer or adding bioactive factors. In this review, we summarized the research progress of dECM-based composite scaffolds in regenerative medicine, highlighting the critical challenges and future perspectives related to the medical application of these composite materials.

Natural TEMPO oxidized cellulose nano fiber/alginate/dSECM hybrid aerogel with improved wound healing and hemostatic ability

Natural biopolymers have attracted considerable attention in a variety of biomedical applications. Herein, tempo-oxidized-cellulose nanofibers (T) were incorporated into sodium alginate/chitosan (A/C) to reinforce the physicochemical properties and further modified with decellularized skin extracellular matrix (E). A unique ACTE aerogel was successfully prepared, and its nontoxic behavior was validated using mouse fibroblast L929 cells. In vitro hemolysis results revealed excellent platelet adhesion and fibrin network formation abilities of the obtained aerogel. A high speed of homeostasis was attained based on the quick clotting in <60 s. Skin regeneration in vivo experiments were conducted using the ACT1E0 and ACT1E10 groups. In comparison to ACT1E0 samples, ACT1E10 samples demonstrated enhanced skin wound healing with increased neo-epithelialization, increased collagen deposition, and extracellular matrix remodeling. ACT1E10 was found to be a promising aerogel for skin defect regeneration due to its improved wound-healing ability.

Decellularized liver extracellular matrix and thrombin loaded biodegradable TOCN/Chitosan nanocomposite for hemostasis and wound healing in rat liver hemorrhage model

During deep noncompressible wound management, surgery, transplantation or post-surgical hemorrhage, rapid blood absorption and hemostasis are the key factors to be taken into consideration to reduce unexpected deaths from severe trauma. In this study, a novel hemostatic biodegradable nanocomposite was fabricated where decellularized liver extracellular matrix (L-ECM) was loaded with two natural polymers (oxidized cellulose and chitosan) in association with thrombin. Plant-derived oxidized cellulose nanofiber (TOCN) and Chitosan (CS) from deacylated chitin were self-assembled with each other by electrostatic interactions. ECM was prepared by the whole tissue decellularization process and incorporated into the composite as a source of collagen and other integrated growth factors to promote wound healing. Thrombin was also anchored with the polymers by freeze drying for enhanced hemostatic efficiency of the composite. This study is the first of its kind to report non-solubilized L-ECM and thrombin loaded TOCN and CS composite, CN/CS/EM-Th for faster hemostasis effect in a rat tail amputation (~71 s) and liver avulsion model (~41 s). Furthermore, excellent liver wound regeneration efficacy was observed in-vivo in comparison to the commercially available oxidized regenerated cellulose product SURGICEL gauge.

Preparation and Use of Decellularized Extracellular Matrix for Tissue Engineering

The multidisciplinary fields of tissue engineering and regenerative medicine have the potential to revolutionize the practise of medicine through the abilities to repair, regenerate, or replace tissues and organs with functional engineered constructs. To this end, tissue engineering combines scaffolding materials with cells and biologically active molecules into constructs with the appropriate structures and properties for tissue/organ regeneration, where scaffolding materials and biomolecules are the keys to mimic the native extracellular matrix (ECM). For this, one emerging way is to decellularize the native ECM into the materials suitable for, directly or in combination with other materials, creating functional constructs. Over the past decade, decellularized ECM (or dECM) has greatly facilitated the advance of tissue engineering and regenerative medicine, while being challenged in many ways. This article reviews the recent development of dECM for tissue engineering and regenerative medicine, with a focus on the preparation of dECM along with its influence on cell culture, the modification of dECM for use as a scaffolding material, and the novel techniques and emerging trends in processing dECM into functional constructs. We highlight the success of dECM and constructs in the in vitro, in vivo, and clinical applications and further identify the key issues and challenges involved, along with a discussion of future research directions.

In-vitro and in-vivo biocompatibility of dECM-alginate as a promising candidate in cell delivery for kidney regeneration

In this study, kidney decellularized extracellular matrix (dECM) and alginate (ALG) hybrid injectable hydrogel, with the purpose of delivering progenitor cells for tissue engineering, were prepared by using a physical crosslinking method in a CaCl₂ solution with high porosity for the exchange of nutrition and waste. In addition, the physical appearance and surface morphology of the hydrogel were investigated using optical and scanning electron microscopy, respectively. The functional groups of the dECM/ALG xerogels was examined via Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy. The biocompatibility of dECM/ALG xerogels was examined in-vitro using renal progenitor cells obtained from adult rat kidney. Enhanced biocompatibility and significant hemostatic behavior was noticed. Furthermore, the in-vivo biocompatibility of dECM/ALG hydrogel with progenitor cells was determined in the deep renal cortex for 7 and 21 days, in order to assess the foreign body reaction and inflammatory response. Early-stage glomerulus-like structure and dense linear cell network-like phenomenon were noticed. Loading of progenitor cells together with hydrogel enhances the cell density obviously due to cell migration from host and form a pattern. The desired early stage in-vivo response to progenitor cell-laden dECM/ALG hydrogel plays a potential role in kidney regeneration long term.

Natural Scaffolds Used for Liver Regeneration: A Narrative Update

Annually chronic liver diseases cause two million death worldwide. Although liver transplantation (LT) is still considered the best therapeutic option, the limited number of donated livers and lifelong side effects of LT has led researchers to seek alternative therapies. Tissue engineering (TE) as a promising method is considered for liver repair and regeneration. TE uses natural or synthetic scaffolds, functional somatic cells, multipotent stem cells, and growth factors to develop new organs. Biological scaffolds are notable in TE because of their capacity to mimic extracellular matrices, biodegradability, and biocompatibility. Moreover, natural scaffolds are classified based on their source and function in three separate groups. Hemostat-based scaffolds as the first group were reviewed for their application in coagulation in liver injury or surgery. Furthermore, recent studies showed improvement in the function of biological hydrogels in liver regeneration and vascularity. In addition, different applications of natural scaffolds were discussed and compared with synthetic scaffolds. Finally, we focused on the efforts to improve the performance of decellularized extracellular matrixes for liver implantation.

Recent Developments in Blood-Compatible Superhydrophobic Surfaces

Superhydrophobic surfaces, as indicated in the name, are highly hydrophobic and readily repel water. With contact angles greater than 150° and sliding angles less than 10°, water droplets flow easily and hardly wet these surfaces. Superhydrophobic materials and coatings have been drawing increasing attention in medical fields, especially on account of their promising applications in blood-contacting devices. Superhydrophobicity controls the interactions of cells with the surfaces and facilitates the flowing of blood or plasma without damaging blood cells. The antibiofouling effect of superhydrophobic surfaces resists adhesion of organic substances, including blood components and microorganisms. These attributes are critical to medical applications such as filter membranes, prosthetic heart valves, extracorporeal circuit tubing, and indwelling catheters. Researchers have developed various methods to fabricate blood-compatible or biocompatible superhydrophobic surfaces using different materials. In addition to being hydrophobic, these surfaces can also be antihemolytic, antithrombotic, antibacterial, and antibiofouling, making them ideal for clinical applications. In this review, the authors summarize recent developments of blood-compatible superhydrophobic surfaces, with a focus on methods and materials. The expectation of this review is that it will support the biomedical research field by providing current trends as well as future directions.

Decellularized liver ECM-based 3D scaffolds: Compositional, physical, chemical, rheological, thermal, mechanical, and in vitro biological evaluations

The extracellular matrix (ECM) is involved in many critical cellular interactions through its biological macromolecules. In this study, a macroporous 3D scaffold originating from decellularized bovine liver ECM (dL-ECM), with defined compositional, physical, chemical, rheological, thermal, mechanical, and in vitro biological properties was developed. First, protocols were determined that effectively remove cells and DNA while ECM retains biological macromolecules collagen, elastin, sGAGs in tissue. Rheological analysis revealed the elastic properties of pepsin-digested dL-ECM. Then, dL-ECM hydrogel was neutralized, molded, formed into macroporous (~100-200 μm) scaffolds in aqueous medium at 37 °C, and lyophilized. The scaffolds had water retention ability, and were mechanically stable for at least 14 days in the culture medium. The findings also showed that increasing the dL-ECM concentration from 10 mg/mL to 20 mg/mL resulted in a significant increase in the mechanical strength of the scaffolds. The hemolysis test revealed high in vitro hemocompatibility of the dL-ECM scaffolds. Studies investigating the viability and proliferation status of human adipose stem cells seeded over a 2-week culture period have demonstrated the suitability of dL-ECM scaffolds as a cell substrate. Prospective studies may reveal the extent to which 3D dL-ECM sponges have the potential to create a biomimetic environment for cells.