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

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 prep...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Tissue engineering. Part A 2009-12, Vol.15 (12), p.3753-3763
Main Authors: Parkinson, Leigh G., Giles, Natalie L., Adcroft, Katharine F., Fear, Mark W., Wood, Fiona M., Poinern, Gerard E.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Aluminum oxide
Aluminum Oxide - pharmacology
Biomedical materials
Care and treatment
Cell Adhesion - drug effects
Cell Line
Cell Movement - drug effects
Cell Proliferation - drug effects
Cellular biology
Electrodes
Health aspects
Humans
Keratinocytes - cytology
Keratinocytes - drug effects
Keratinocytes - ultrastructure
Membranes
Membranes, Artificial
Nanoparticles
Nanostructures - chemistry
Nanostructures - ultrastructure
Original Articles
Porosity - drug effects
Skin - drug effects
Skin - pathology
Surface Properties - drug effects
Tissue engineering
Wound healing
Wound Healing - drug effects
Wounds and injuries
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Summary: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.
ISSN:1937-3341
1937-335X
DOI:10.1089/ten.tea.2008.0594