Collagen/chitosan‐silicone membrane bilayer scaffold as a dermal equivalent

Abstract

Abstract A bilayer dermal equivalent was fabricated by combining the collagen/chitosan porous scaffold with a silicone membrane. The macroscopic shapes and microstructures of the collagen/chitosan scaffolds with or without silicone membrane were illustrated. Water‐uptake was characterized by the phosphate buffered saline (PBS)‐immersion test. It was found that the glutaraldehyde treated scaffold had a higher water‐uptake ratio than that of the thermal treatment. The water vapor permeability of the bilayer dermal equivalent was tested under different humidities at room temperature. The results proved that the water vapor permeability of this bilayer dermal equivalent was close to normal adult skin. Investigation of the mechanical performance found that the bilayer dermal equivalent had a tensile stress of 0.1 MPa and a strain of 30% in the wet state. In vitro cell culture demonstrated that the bilayer dermal equivalent presented in this study did not show any cytotoxicity. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.