Efficacy of polarized hydroxyapatite and silk fibroin composite dressing gel on epidermal recovery from full‐thickness skin wounds

Abstract

Hydroxyapatite (HA) has been widely used to produce biomaterials. We reported that electrically polarized HA (pHA) induces cells as a scaffold. Recently, in the biomedical field, many studies are underway, seeking new applications of silk fibroin (SF), because SF can be gelatinized and still retain its biocompatibility and permeability. To develop an innovative composite material for effective wound dressings, we added pHA powder to SF and gelatinized the compound. We then applied the gel composite on full-thickness porcine skin wounds for investigation of its healing effect. The pHA transforms the SF structure into a porous three-dimensional scaffold. It was found that the SF gel containing pHA (pHA/SF) had higher promotive effects on wound healing, re-epithelization, and matrix formation than did the other prepared gel composites in the study. The pHA/SF effectively advanced the maturation of fibroblast cells benefiting from its structural advantages and stored charges. To our knowledge, this is the first report of the preparation of pHA/SF gel and identification of its wound-healing effects in vivo.