In Vitro Models in Biocompatibility Assessment for Biomedical-Grade Chitosan Derivatives in Wound Management

Abstract

Abstract:One of the ultimate goals of wound healing research is to find effective healing techniques that utilize the regeneration of similar tissues. This involves the modification of various wound dressing biomaterials for proper wound management. The biopolymer chitosan (-1,4-D-glucosamine) has natural biocompatibility and biodegradability that render it suitable for wound management. By definition, a biocompatible biomaterial does not have toxic or injurious effects on biological systems. Chemical and physical modifications of chitosan influence its biocompatibility and biodegradability to an uncertain degree. Hence, the modified biomedical-grade of chitosan derivatives should be pre-examined in vitro in order to produce high-quality, biocompatible dressings. In vitro toxicity examinations are more favorable than those performed in vivo, as the results are more reproducible and predictive. In this paper, basic in vitro tools were used to evaluate cellular and molecular responses with regard to the biocompatibility of biomedical-grade chitosan. Three paramount experimental parameters of biocompatibility in vitro namely cytocompatibility, genotoxicity and skin pro-inflammatory cytokine expression, were generally reviewed for biomedical-grade chitosan as wound dressing.

In VitroEvaluation of a Biomedical-Grade Bilayer Chitosan Porous Skin Regenerating Template as a Potential Dermal Scaffold in Skin Tissue Engineering

“…In vitro cytotoxicity models are often used to screen for potential harmful effects of chemical compounds because they have good reproducibility and sensitivity, while also minimizing the use of animals. Moreover, cellular cytotoxicity systems are better predictive tools for human toxicity than are whole organism models [5,6,15,16].…”

“…By using primary human cell cultures, in this case pHEKs, these results should also better reflect the cytotoxicity outcomes expected in humans, compared with results from transformed cell lines, fibroblasts, or animal cell lines [6,7,17,18]. LDH is a stable cytoplasmic enzyme present in most cells that is released when the plasma membrane is damaged or ruptured.…”

“…High expression of TNF-α has been found in patients with keratinocyte lesions, rendering it important role in inflammatory process [26]. Elevated levels of TNF-α expression could indicate activation of cytokine pathways associated with inflammation and disease progression [6]. CPSRTs did not induce increased production of either IL-8 or TNF-α, but maintained levels similar to those in the negative control, suggesting that these scaffolds did not provoke an irritation response in vitro.…”

“…Tissue engineering uses polymer scaffolds to promote cell adhesion, proliferation, and differentiation in vitro. Although chitosan has been used in various types of biocompatible wound dressings, such as films, pastes, sheets, and porous templates 2 International Journal of Polymer Science [5][6][7][8], it also has intrinsic wound-healing abilities [9]. A novel biomedical-grade bilayer chitosan porous skin regenerating template (CPSRT) was developed for use as a dermal scaffold for skin tissue engineering to take advantage of these wound-healing abilities as well as the biocompatible nature of chitosan.…”

In VivoPerformance of Chitosan/Soy-Based Membranes as Wound-Dressing Devices for Acute Skin Wounds

“…Indiscriminately, synthetic, [11][12][13][14] natural, 8,15,16 or biological materials 10,17,18 have been presented along the years, as the key elements for controlling/modulating the healing mechanisms and the outcomes of wound repair upon dressing. 10 Among the recently proposed natural-origin materials for wound dressing, collagen 2,9,19 chitosan, [20][21][22][23][24] and silk 25,26 occupy a central position due to their nature, which might present improved performance.…”