3D bioprinting of artificial skin substrates

• Main Author: Neo, Richmond Yu Wei
• Other Authors: Fong Wen Mei, Eileen
• Format: Final Year Project
• Language: English
• Published: 2019
• Subjects: DRNTU::Engineering::Materials
• Online Access: http://hdl.handle.net/10356/76751
• Institution: Nanyang Technological University

In recent years, there has been intensive research to develop skin substitutes to replace the current method of tissue grafting from donor sites. Various tissue-engineered skin replacements have been developed which are currently available on the market. However, these skin replacements do not represent a true, fully functional skin replacement as they each have their own unique drawbacks. This study aims to develop a fully functional skin model to mimic real skin tissue as close as possible. This is done by coating a bio-printed hydrogel scaffold with a recombinant protein which will facilitate cell migration, adhesion and proliferation. The Human Dermal Fibroblast (HDF) cells seeded onto the scaffold were incubated for up to 14 days and the viability of the cells were characterised via Live/Dead cell staining. Images of the cells was taken at days 1, 3, 7 and 14 using a microscope. The images depicted positive cell adhesion and proliferation. A dry sample of the bio-printed hydrogel scaffold was also characterised using Scanning Electron Microscopy to analyse the pore morphology, size and density.