Preparation of decellularized skin incorporated polycaprolactone (PCL) scaffolds by melt electrowriting (MEW) and investigation of their potential use for tissue engineering

The scaffold was designed by combining melt electrowriting poly(ɛ-caprolactone) (PCL) scaffolds and three-dimensional (3D) printed decellularized skin tissue hydrogels in the form of sandwiches. The potential of the developed biocompatible and bioactive scaffold in skin tissue engineering was investigated. The optimum parameters of two different printing techniques were determined for the printing of PCL scaffolds with the appropriate morphology and for the 3D printing of decellularized skin tissue hydrogels. FTIR (Fouirer-Transform Infrared spectroscopy), Thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) and X-ray diffraction analysis (XRD) methods were used for the characterization of the designed tissue scaffolds. Skin tissues were decellularized with solutions containing Trypsin-EDTA (ethylene diaminetetraacetic acid), Sodium Azide and Triton X-100. Decellularized tissues were characterized by DNA content analysis, glycosaminoglycan (GAG) analysis, collagen content analysis and total protein analysis with the Bradford Method. The morphologies of the tissues were evaluated by histology studies. The degradation behavior of scaffolds was evaluated in enzymatic and hydrolytic solutions. The cytotoxic properties of the designed scaffolds in human dermal fibroblast and mouse fibroblast (L929) cells and their proliferation behavior on the scaffolds were investigated. The antimicrobial activities of the scaffolds were investigated.