Evidence map›Paper›PMID 40130574›Full record

ArticleACS applied bio materials2025

Microstructural Effects of Melt Electrowritten-Reinforced Hydrogel Scaffolds for Engineering Thick Skin Substitutes.

Ferdows Afghah, Mine Altunbek, Mahdiyeh Zahrabi, Bahattin Koc

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in ACS applied bio materials, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 1 paper.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
1citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

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Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

1 citing paper in PubMed.

  1. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

4 authors.

Ferdows AfghahSabanci University Nanotechnology Research and Application Center, Istanbul 34956, Turkey.ORCID 0000-0003-4616-0424
Mine AltunbekSabanci University Nanotechnology Research and Application Center, Istanbul 34956, Turkey.
Mahdiyeh ZahrabiSabanci University Nanotechnology Research and Application Center, Istanbul 34956, Turkey.ORCID 0009-0007-2109-2556
Bahattin KocSabanci University Nanotechnology Research and Application Center, Istanbul 34956, Turkey.ORCID 0000-0001-9073-8516

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Engineering thick skin tissue substitutes resembling the physiochemical and mechanical properties of native tissue is a significant challenge. Melt electrowriting (MEW) is a powerful technique with the capability of fabricating highly ordered structures with fine fiber diameters, closely replicating the native extracellular matrix (ECM). In this study, we constructed melt electrowritten porous polycaprolactone (PCL) scaffolds with three different geometries by depositing fibers at 0-90 and 60-120° in a mesh structure and in a honeycomb-like orientation to assess the effects of the microstructure on the mechanical strength of the scaffold and cellular behavior. These scaffolds were subsequently infilled with gelatin hydrogel, encapsulating human skin dermal fibroblasts (HSFs) and human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVECs). Mechanical tensile tests revealed that the honeycomb microstructure of the hybrid PCL/gelatin scaffold exhibited greater elongation at failure, along with an acceptable elastic modulus suitable for skin tissue applications. All scaffolds provided a cytocompatible microenvironment that maintained over 90% cell viability and preserved typical cell morphology. HSFs were guided through the PCL fibers to the apical surface, while HUVECs were distributed within the gelatin hydrogel within the hybrid structure. Additionally, HSFs' alignment was regulated by the scaffold geometry. Notably, the expression of CD31 in HUVECs─a key transmembrane protein for capillary formation─increased significantly over a 14 day incubation period. Among those, 0-90° mesh and honeycomb geometries showed the greatest effects on the upregulation of CD31. These findings demonstrate that the microstructural guidance of HSFs and their interaction with HUVECs in hybrid structures play a crucial role in promoting vascularization. In conclusion, the honeycomb MEW-gelatin hybrid scaffold demonstrates significant potential for effectively replicating both the mechanical and physicochemical properties essential for full-thickness skin tissue substitutes.

Indexed as

Biocompatible MaterialsHydrogelsSkin, ArtificialTissue EngineeringTissue ScaffoldsCells, CulturedCell SurvivalFibroblastsGelatinHumansHuman Umbilical Vein Endothelial CellsMaterials TestingParticle SizePolyestersPorositySkinBiocompatible MaterialsGelatinHydrogelspolycaprolactonePolyesterscell alignmentmechanical propertiesmelt electrowritingmicrostructurescaffold designskin tissue engineeringvascularization

Identifiers

PMID40130574
PMCPMC12015962

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Registered trials

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.