Efficacy of a poly glycolic acid (PGA)/collagen composite nanofibre scaffold on cell migration and neovascularisation in vivo skin defect model

Abstract

Application of tissue engineering currently provides promising therapeutic options in the fields of plastic surgery and wound management. The ability of scaffold material for cell proliferation and differentiation is the key for tissue engineering. This study has developed a novel nanofibre composed of poly glycolic acid (PGA) and collagen, both of which have their own respective beneficial properties. This study aimed to estimate the in vivo efficiency of the PGA/collagen nanofibre on granulation histology and its ability to induce neovascularisation. The electrospinning technique produced the PGA/collagen nanofiber with a diameter of 500 nm and weight mixing ratio of 40%. The skin defects on the mouse model were covered with PGA/collagen or a commercially available collagen matrix (n = 9). The PGA/collagen group histologically showed significantly higher cell density and a fine microstructure with greater number of migrating cells as compared to collagen matrix. Then, both materials were applied to the microcirculatory angiogenesis model. The PGA/collagen group (n = 8) revealed significantly higher functional capillary density on days 5 and 7 after application. The findings substantiated the fact that our material had a superior ability regarding cellular migration and induction of neovascularisation compared with the elementary collagen matrix product. This better result might be attributed to the nano-size effect of fine structure and the incorporation of PGA, which has been associated with enhanced angiogenesis.