Wound Healing Properties Of Chitosan Skin Regenerating Template In Streptozotocin-Induced Diabetic Rats

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Date
2015
Authors
Chang, Kathleen Yee Kuin
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Publisher
Universiti Sains Malaysia
Abstract
Diabetes mellitus is increasingly becoming a major public health burden worldwide. An estimate of 347 million people worldwide has diabetes. One of the commonest complications of diabetes mellitus is the diabetic foot ulcer. Many of these ulcers become chronic or non-healing wounds. Chronic wounds remain a major challenge in modern medicine and represent a significant burden to physical and mental health, productivity and health care expenditure, resulting in long-term morbidity. Cell therapy, a promising solution in chronic wounds, involves the transplantation of cultured cells. Cultured dermal fibroblasts have been used alone or incorporated into artificial skin substitutes to improve wound healing. Chitosan is a suitable scaffold for incorporation of dermal cells as it non-toxic, non-allergenic and biocompatible. This study was carried out on streptozotocin-induced diabetic Sprague-Dawley rats, which is an established model of impaired wound healing in diabetes. The objective of this study is to investigate the biological properties of Chitosan SRT and to compare the wound healing properties of Chitosan SRT and Allevyn gentle in streptozotocin-induced diabetic rats. Cultured dermal fibroblasts were seeded into Chitosan SRT and examined at day 1, 4, 10 and 14 for proliferation and infiltration patterns using histological examination. Twelve rats divided into group A (7 days) and group B (14 days) were subjected to two 1x1 cm full thickness surgical wound and dressed with Chitosan SRT and Allevyn gentle. Dressing change and evaluation were done at 3 days-interval until day of sacrifice for histological examination. The results showed that Chitosan SRT supports the attachment and growth of rat dermal fibroblasts. However, there was no in vitro production of collagen fibres. Chitosan SRT was comparable to Allevyn gentle, a commercially established dressing in terms of dressing and wound evaluation and histological features. Chitosan SRT was more superior to Allevyn gentle in term of dressing flexibility. There was no tissue reaction noted in wounds treated with Chitosan SRT. In conclusion, Chitosan SRT is suitable as a dressing material and to be used as scaffold for fabrication of skin substitute.
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Keywords
Artificial skin substitutes , to improve wound healing.
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