Highly Porous and Rigid, Full-thickness Human Skin Model from the Slime-webbed Fiber Scaffold

• Published in: Biotechnology and bioprocess engineering Vol. 28; no. 2; pp. 246 - 254
• Main Authors: Kim, Jae Jung, Lee, Nam Keun, Ryu, Da Eun, Ko, Byoung Ho, Kim, Ju Hyeon, Rhee, Jin-Kyu, Sung, Jong Hwan
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Seoul The Korean Society for Biotechnology and Bioengineering 01.04.2023; Springer Nature B.V; 한국생물공학회
• Subjects: Biomarkers; Biotechnology; Cell culture; Cell viability; Chemicals; Chemistry; Chemistry and Materials Science; Collagen; Cosmetics; Differentiation; Fibers; Fibroblasts; Glycerol; Industrial and Production Engineering; Keratin; Keratinocytes; Mechanical properties; Research Paper; Scaffolds; Skin; skin (animal); Skin tests; Slime; 생물공학; human skin model; fiber; slime-webbing method
• ISSN: 1226-8372; 1976-3816
• DOI: 10.1007/s12257-022-0341-0

Collagen is the most prevalent scaffold material for in vitro skin models. The major limitation of collagen scaffold is its mechanical weakness, resulting in severe contraction during differentiation. Here, we presented a slime-webbed scaffold composed of perpendicularly stacked fibers with large pores. This slime-webbed scaffold did not contract while improving molecular transport and achieving comparable cell viability. Fibroblasts were seeded into the slime-webbed scaffold to mimic the dermal layer. In the epidermal layer, which was on top of this scaffold, keratinocytes expressed the differentiation biomarkers, keratin-5 and involucrin. Our slime-webbed scaffold-based human skin models overcome the critical limitations of collagen scaffold, suggesting a promising alternative skin model for consistent testing of drugs or cosmetic products.