TY - JOUR
T1 - Engineering of Uniform Epidermal Layers via Sacrificial Gelatin Bioink-Assisted 3D Extrusion Bioprinting of Skin
AU - Ahn, Minjun
AU - Cho, Won Woo
AU - Lee, Hanju
AU - Park, Wonbin
AU - Lee, Seok Hyeon
AU - Back, Jae Woo
AU - Gao, Qiqi
AU - Gao, Ge
AU - Cho, Dong Woo
AU - Kim, Byoung Soo
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© 2023 Wiley-VCH GmbH.
PY - 2023/10/27
Y1 - 2023/10/27
N2 - To reconstruct an ideal full-thickness skin model, basal keratinocytes must be distributed as a confluent monolayer on the dermis. However, the currently available extrusion bioprinting method for the skin is limited when producing an air-exposed cellular monolayer because the cells are encapsulated within a bioink. This is the first study to use sacrificial gelatin-assisted extrusion bioprinting to reproduce a uniform and stratified epidermal layer. Experimental analyses of the rheological properties, printability, cell viability, and initial keratinocyte adhesion shows that the optimal gelatin bioink concentration is 4 wt.%. The appropriate thickness of the bioprinted gelatin structure for achieving a confluent keratinocyte layer is determined to be 400 µm. The suggested strategy generates a uniform keratinocyte monolayer with tight junctions throughout the central and peripheral regions, whereas manual seeding generates non-uniform cellular aggregates and vacancies. These results influence gene expression, exhibiting a propensity for epidermal differentiation. Finally, the gelatin-assisted keratinocytes are bioprinted onto a dermis composed of gelatin methacryloyl and dermis-derived decellularized extracellular matrix to establish a full-thickness skin model. Thus, this strategy leads to significant improvements in epidermal differentiation/stratification. The findings demonstrate that the gelatin-assisted approach is advantageous for recreating reliable full-thickness skin models with significant consistency for mass production.
AB - To reconstruct an ideal full-thickness skin model, basal keratinocytes must be distributed as a confluent monolayer on the dermis. However, the currently available extrusion bioprinting method for the skin is limited when producing an air-exposed cellular monolayer because the cells are encapsulated within a bioink. This is the first study to use sacrificial gelatin-assisted extrusion bioprinting to reproduce a uniform and stratified epidermal layer. Experimental analyses of the rheological properties, printability, cell viability, and initial keratinocyte adhesion shows that the optimal gelatin bioink concentration is 4 wt.%. The appropriate thickness of the bioprinted gelatin structure for achieving a confluent keratinocyte layer is determined to be 400 µm. The suggested strategy generates a uniform keratinocyte monolayer with tight junctions throughout the central and peripheral regions, whereas manual seeding generates non-uniform cellular aggregates and vacancies. These results influence gene expression, exhibiting a propensity for epidermal differentiation. Finally, the gelatin-assisted keratinocytes are bioprinted onto a dermis composed of gelatin methacryloyl and dermis-derived decellularized extracellular matrix to establish a full-thickness skin model. Thus, this strategy leads to significant improvements in epidermal differentiation/stratification. The findings demonstrate that the gelatin-assisted approach is advantageous for recreating reliable full-thickness skin models with significant consistency for mass production.
KW - confluent keratinocyte monolayers
KW - extrusion bioprinting
KW - sacrificial gelatin-based bioinks
KW - skin engineering
KW - stratified epidermal layers
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85166437088&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1002/adhm.202301015
DO - 10.1002/adhm.202301015
M3 - Article
C2 - 37537366
AN - SCOPUS:85166437088
SN - 2192-2640
VL - 12
JO - Advanced healthcare materials
JF - Advanced healthcare materials
IS - 27
M1 - 2301015
ER -