Historically, soy protein and extracts have been used extensively in foods due to their high protein and mineral content. More recently, soy protein has received attention for a variety of its potential health benefits, including enhanced skin regeneration. It has been reported that soy protein possesses bioactive molecules similar to extracellular matrix (ECM) proteins and estrogen. In wound healing, oral and topical soy has been heralded as a safe and cost-effective alternative to animal protein and endogenous estrogen. However, engineering soy protein-based fibrous dressings, while recapitulating ECM microenvironment and maintaining a moist environment, remains a challenge. Here, the development of an entirely plant-based nanofibrous dressing comprised of cellulose acetate (CA) and soy protein hydrolysate (SPH) using rotary jet spinning is described. The spun nanofibers successfully mimic physicochemical properties of the native skin ECM and exhibit a high water retaining capability. In vitro, CA/SPH nanofibers promote fibroblast proliferation, migration, infiltration, and integrin β1 expression. In vivo, CA/SPH scaffolds accelerate re-epithelialization and epidermal thinning as well as reduce scar formation and collagen anisotropy in a similar fashion to other fibrous scaffolds, but without the use of animal proteins or synthetic polymers. These results affirm the potential of CA/SPH nanofibers as a novel wound dressing.

While it is well established that the composition and organisation of articular cartilage dramatically change during skeletal maturation, relatively little is known about how this impacts the mechanical properties of the tissue. In this study, digital image correlation was first used to quantify spatial deformation within mechanically compressed skeletally immature (4 and 8 week old) and mature (1 and 3 year old) porcine articular cartilage. The compressive modulus of the immature tissue was relatively homogeneous, while the stiffness of mature articular cartilage dramatically increased with depth from the articular surface. Other, well documented, biomechanical characteristics of the tissue also emerged with skeletal maturity, such as strain-softening and a depth-dependent Poisson's ratio. The most significant changes that occurred with age were in the deep zone of the tissue, where an order of magnitude increase in compressive modulus (from 0.97 MPa to 9.4 MPa for low applied strains) was observed from 4 weeks postnatal to skeletal maturity. These temporal increases in compressive stiffness occurred despite a decrease in tissue sulphated glycosaminoglycan content, but were accompanied by increases in tissue collagen content. Furthermore, helium ion microscopy revealed dramatic changes in collagen fibril alignment through the depth of the tissue with skeletal maturity, as well as a fivefold increase in fibril diameter with age. Finally, computational modelling was used to demonstrate how both collagen network reorganisation and collagen stiffening play a key role in determining the final compressive mechanical properties of the tissue. Together these findings provide a unique insight into evolving structure-function relations in articular cartilage.

It is postulated that the observed decrease in the dynamic moduli is due at least in part to the superficial region acting as a low permeability barrier, where its removal decreases the tissue's ability to maintain fluid load support. This result emphasises the impact that degeneration of the superficial region has on the functionality of the remaining tissue.

The findings demonstrate that the superficial region of articular cartilage undergoes dramatic structural adaptation with age, which in turn plays a key role in determining the dynamic compressive properties of the tissue.