Abstract

Biological scaffolds such as hydrogels provide an ideal, physio-mimetic of native ECM that can improve wound healing outcomes after cutaneous injury. While most studies have focused on the benefits of hydrogels in accelerating wound healing, there is minimal data directly comparing different hydrogel material compositions. In this study, we utilized a splinted excisional wound model that recapitulates human-like wound healing in mice and treated wounds with three different collagen hydrogel dressings. We assessed the feasibility of applying each dressing and performed histologic and histopathologic analysis on the explanted scar tissues to assess variations in collagen architecture and alignment, as well as tissue response. Our data indicate that the material properties of hydrogel dressings can significantly influence healing time, cellular response, and resulting architecture of healed scars. Specifically, our pullulan-collagen hydrogel dressing accelerated wound closure and promoted healed tissue with less dense, more randomly aligned, and shorter collagen fibers. Further understanding of how hydrogel properties affect the healing and resulting scar architecture of wounds may lead to novel insights and further optimization of the material properties of wound dressings. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.

View details for DOI 10.1111/wrr.13012

View details for PubMedID 35384131