Healing Chronic Wounds with Animal Protein-free 3D Printed Skin.

9781392499719

Ann Arbor : ProQuest Dissertations & Theses, 2019

1 online resource (25 p.)

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Chronic cutaneous wounds are injured areas of the skin that lack the ability to heal and to restore the skin’s functionality and integrity. Patients susceptible to impaired wound healing may develop ulcers due to venous stasis, pressure, or diabetes. In the United States, skin ulcers affect about 6.5 million people and 1-2% of the population in developed countries will suffer a chronic wound in their lifetime. This poses a significant threat to public health as the population is aging and there is an increasing incidence of diabetes and obesity that contribute to the burden of treating chronic wounds. Traditionally, wound dressings or skin grafts such as allografts and autografts have been used to promote primary wound closure. However, the skin grafts that are clinically available only work temporarily since they have a high risk of being rejected, form scars, and are unable to vascularize -- an important factor for complete wound healing. Three-dimensional (3D) bioprinting is a promising advancement in tissue engineering as it has the ability to precisely place cells mimicking the structure and function of living tissues such as the skin. Unlike other skin models, 3D printed skin can potentially recapitulate complex structures such as vascular networks that will promote engrafting and healing of chronic wounds. Still, the risk of rejection may remain if such grafts contain animal proteins. By optimizing culture conditions using human serum supplemented with necessary growth factors and matrix components, we have established conditions for growing human skin cells in the absence of animal proteins. Cells demonstrate healthy proliferation and growth for the development of animal protein-free 3D printed skin grafts. Furthermore, skin grafts that don’t use animal proteins are eligible for clinical application by meeting the standards for Good Manufacturing Practices outlined by the FDA. Thus, a solution to chronic wound healing and wound care in public health could be found in the fabrication of bioprinted skin that vascularizes and heals without the support of animal proteins.

Dissertations & Theses @ Yale University.

Books / Online / Dissertations & Theses

English

July 15, 2020

Thesis (M.P.H.)--Yale University, 2019.

Yale University. School of Public Health.