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RESEARCH ARTICLE

3D Printing of Diatomite Incorporated Composite

Scaffolds for Skin Repair of Deep Burn Wounds

Jingge Ma , Jinfu Wu , Hongjian Zhang , Lin Du , Hui Zhuang , Zhaowenbin Zhang ,
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Bing Ma , Jiang Chang , Chengtie Wu *
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1 State Key Laboratory of High Performance Ceramics and Superfine Microstructure, Shanghai Institute of Ceramics,
Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai 200050, P. R. China
2 Center of Materials Science and Optoelectronics Engineering, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049,
P. R. China
Abstract: Deep burn injury always causes severe damage of vascular network and collagen matrix followed by delayed wound
healing process. In this study, natural diatomite (DE) microparticles with porous nanostructure were separated based on the
particles size through a dry sieving method and combined with gelatin methacryloyl (GelMA) hydrogel to form a bioactive
composite ink. The DE-containing inorganic/organic composite scaffolds, which were successfully prepared through three-
dimensional (3D) printing technology, were used as functional burn wound dressings. The scaffolds incorporated with DE are
of great benefit to several cellular activities, including cell spreading, proliferation, and angiogenesis-related gene expression
in vitro, which can mainly be attributed to the positive effect of bioactive silicon (Si) ions released from the embedded
DE. Moreover, due to establishment of bioactive ionic environment, the deep burn wounds treated with 3D-printed DE
incorporated scaffolds exhibited rapid wound healing rate, enhanced collagen deposition, and dense blood vessel formation
in vivo. Therefore, the present study demonstrates that the cost-effective DE can be used as biocompatible Si source to
significantly promote the bioactivities of wound dressings for effective tissue regeneration.

Keywords: Diatomite; 3D printing; Burn wound; Skin regeneration; Tissue engineering

*Correspondence to: Chengtie Wu, State Key Laboratory of High Performance Ceramics and Superfine Microstructure, Shanghai Institute of
Ceramics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai 200050, P. R. China; chengtiewu@mail.sic.ac.cn

Received: March 22, 2022; Accepted: April 29, 2022; Published Online: June 11, 2022
(This article belongs to the Special Issue: Composite/Multicomponent Biomaterial Inks and Bioinks)
Citation: Ma J, Wu J, Zhang H, et al., 2022, 3D Printing of Diatomite Incorporated Composite Scaffolds for Skin Repair of
Deep Burn Wounds. Int J Bioprint, 8(3): 580. http://doi.org/10.18063/ijb.v8i3.580

1. Introduction Research on bioactive scaffolds for the treatment of
burn wound has generated sustained interest during the
As the largest surface barrier of human body, the past few decades. It should not be ignored that the physical
skin plays a crucial role in the maintenance of body
temperature and fluid, regulation of metabolic process, structure and chemical composition have become the key
and defense of outside invasion [1,2] . However, severe factors which are closely related to the realization of
[5]
burns caused by thermal exposure, chemical injury, the multiple functions of the scaffolds . Notably, three-
and electricity always lead to serious damage of fibrous dimensional (3D) printing technology has emerged as
matrix and blood vessels network in skin tissue . From one of the optimal methods for the preparation of tissue-
[3]
the perspective, the wound dressings that have capacity engineered scaffolds. The additive manufacturing of
of promoting gas exchange, blood vessel formation, layer-by-layer deposition allows fabricating sophisticated
collagen synthesis, and skin tissue regeneration are porous constructs combing biomaterials and bioactive
urgently needed for efficient treatment of skin burn molecules [6,7] . The previous studies have suggested
wound . that 3D scaffolds with accessible porous architecture
[4]
© 2022 Author(s). This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, permitting distribution and
reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
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