The Potential of Nanoporous Anodic Aluminium Oxide Membranes to Influence Skin Wound Repair

Abstract

Cells respond to changes in the environment by altering their phenotype. The ability to influence cell behavior by modifying their environment provides an opportunity for therapeutic application, for example, to promote faster wound healing in response to skin injury. Here, we have modified the preparation of an aluminium oxide template to generate large uniform membranes with differing nano-pore sizes. Epidermal cells (keratinocytes) and dermal cells (fibroblasts) readily adhere to these nanoporous membranes. The pore size appears to influence the rate of cell proliferation and migration, important aspects of cell behavior during wound healing. The suitability of the membrane to act as a dressing after a burn injury was assessed in vivo; application of the membrane demonstrated adherence and conformability to the skin surface of a pig, with no observed degradation or detrimental effect on the repair. Our results suggest that keratinocytes are sensitive to changes in topography at the nanoscale level and that this property may be exploited to improve wound repair after tissue injury.

The influence of substrate topography on the migration of corneal epithelial wound borders

“…Our group has demonstrated that the topographic cues intrinsic to the native BM [7], unequivocally influence wound healing behaviors [18–20]. Parkinson et al demonstrated that the size of nano-pores on aluminum oxide membranes influenced the rate of keratocyte proliferation and migration in vitro [29]. In addition, the use of topographically patterned membranes as dressings lead to less granulation tissue and a more mature epidermal layer in skin than control standard burn dressings in vivo [30].…”

The Effect of Nano-Scale Topography on Keratinocyte Phenotype and Wound Healing Following Burn Injury

“…13 Representative SEM images of each of the prepared membranes are shown in Figure 1. Pore geometry was analyzed using SPIP software over full SEM micrographs and also within ordered pore domains.…”

“…13 Preliminary experiments showed that keratinocytes adhered to the membranes and were sensitive to nano-scale changes in topography. In this work, detailed studies of cell phenotype on the nanoporous membranes are presented and discussed with an optimal pore size determined for application in vivo.…”

“…In this work, detailed studies of cell phenotype on the nanoporous membranes are presented and discussed with an optimal pore size determined for application in vivo. AAO membranes were used as an interactive dressing to treat deep dermal partial thickness burns in a porcine model 13,14 to exploit the effects of the membranes observed on cell phenotype in vitro. The data suggests that AAO membranes and nano-scale topography have potential for further application in skin wound repair.…”

Can Anodic Aluminium Oxide Nanomembranes Treated with Nanometre Scale Hydroxyapatite be Used as a Cell Culture Substrate

“…For example, the surface chemistry and topography of a potential material for use with cells must be biologically compatible for this substrate to induce productive cell-material interactions. In the case of AAO membranes, the unique surface properties have been investigated by a number of researchers for a number of cells such as keratinocytes and fibroblasts [17], hepatocytes [18], endothelial and vascular smooth muscle cell [19], and osteoblasts [20]. The results of these studies all confirm the importance of addressing the behaviour of a specific cell line to the scaffold environment.…”