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In this study, an improved indirect cell coculture system was constructed by using a polyelectrolyte complex membrane generated by alginate (A) and chitosan (C). Methodologies of characterizing thickness and permeability of flat AC membrane were first established due to the importance of these two parameters in determining intercellular distance and degree of contact between cocultured cells. Compared to reaction time, both alginate concentration and molecular weight (Mw) of chitosan play more dominant roles in determining the membrane thickness and diffusion coefficients. Moreover, cells in the alginate gel and on the AC membrane could maintain high cell viability. Thus, an improved indirect cell coculture system constructed by flat AC membrane was fabricated and characterized, which provides a robust tool to study the effect of intercellular distance and degree of contact between cocultured cells on cell-cell interactions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Marine polysaccharide-based hydrogels have drawn much attention for diversified biomedical applications owing to their excellent (bio)physicochemical properties. In the present work, a series of marine polysaccharide-based hydrogels composed of chitosan, alginate, or fucoidan are prepared via a facile chemical cross-linking approach in an alkali/urea aqueous system. The prepared hydrogels possess tunable microporous architecture, swelling, and biodegradable properties by changing the components and proportions of marine polysaccharides. Importantly, the developed hydrogels are mechanically robust and the maximum compressive stress is up to 28.37 ± 4.63 kPa. Furthermore, the composite hydrogels exhibit excellent cytocompatibility, blood compatibility, and histocompatibility. When implanted subcutaneously in rats, the hydrogels containing fucoidan inhibit the inflammatory response of surrounding tissue. Thus, the designed composite hydrogels are promising bio-scaffolds in biomedical applications. [Display omitted] [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Conventional wound-dressing materials with structural and functional deficiencies are not effective in promoting wound healing. The development of multifunctional wound dressings is emerging as a promising strategy to accelerate blood coagulation, inhibit bacterial infection, and trigger full-thickness wound into a regenerative process. Herein, multifunctional composite sponges were developed by incorporation of traditional Chinese medicine Kangfuxin (KFX) into alginate (AG)/carboxymethyl chitosan (CMC) via green crosslinking, electrostatic interaction, and freeze-drying methods. It is demonstrated that the AG/CMC/KFX (ACK) sponges exhibit a highly interconnected and porous structure, suitable water vapor transmittance, excellent elastic properties, antibacterial behavior, cytocompatibility, and rapid hemostasis. Further, in a rat full-thickness wounds model, the ACK sponge containing 10% KFX (ACK-10) significantly facilitates wound closure compared to the AC group and ACK sponge containing 5% and 15% KFX. Thus, the multifunctional ACK-10 composite sponge has great promise for the application of full-thickness wound healing. Unlabelled Image • Multifunctional alginate/carboxymethyl chitosan/kangfuxin sponges (ACK) were successfully fabricated. • ACK possessed a highly porous structure and excellent elastic properties. • ACK accelerated hemostasis and inhibited bacterial infection • ACK triggered the full-thickness wound into a regenerative process. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Developing bio-multifunctional wound dressings with excellent hemostasis, antibacterial, anti-inflammatory, enhanced angiogenesis and hair follicle regeneration for promoting full-thickness wound healing is highly valuable in clinical application. Herein, bio-multifunctional composite sponges were prepared by coupling alginate and chitosan with fucoidan through electrostatic interaction, Ca2+ crosslinking, and lyophilization processes. The prepared alginate/chitosan/fucoidan (ACF) sponges display excellent elastic properties, preserving their shape even after bending and compressive strain without failure. The ACF sponge containing 10% fucoidan (ACF-1) shows better hemostatic and antibacterial performances, and significantly promotes wound closure in a rat full-thickness wounds model compared to the alginate/chitosan group and ACF sponge containing 30% fucoidan. Furthermore, the ACF-1 sponge greatly facilitates the epithelialization and the formation of collagen in the dermis, promotes the hair follicle regeneration, enhances vascularization by upregulating the protein expression of CD31, and reduces inflammation by downregulating the protein expression of TNF-α. This work suggests that ACF sponges with a certain amount of fucoidan display great potential for the treatment of full-thickness skin repair. Unlabelled Image • Bio-multifunctional ACF sponges were successfully prepared through a facile, efficient, green cross-linked, and freeze-drying processes. • The ACF sponges possessed excellent hemostatic and antibacterial performances as well as greatly promoted full-thickness wound healing. • The ACF sponges reduced inflammation, facilitated the epithelialization, as well as enhanced angiogenesis and hair follicle regeneration. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]