A Combination Hyaluronic Acid-Collagen Fiber Scaffold for Tympanic Membrane Repair

Abstract

Tympanic membrane perforation (TMP) can cause recurrent ear infections and chronic TMP. Treatments designed to repair TMP involve reconstruction of the TM with autologous tissue grafts. These autologous grafts have limitations. To address them, a novel biomaterial comprised of hyaluronic acid (HA) and surface-anchored type I collagen (ColI) fibers was developed and characterized. Here, a dual-crosslinking reaction was optimized for production of HA films with appropriate mechanical and biochemical properties. Col1-fibers were attached to the crosslinked HA film, and the tensile properties were examined. Finally, in vitro evaluation of cell attachment and migration was performed with human keratinocytes. Crosslinked HA films were stable for longer than 21 days when immersed in PBS at 37 ºC. The mechanical properties of the films approximated those of the human TM. Dermal fibroblast attached on the HA-ColI-fiber films with no cytotoxicity. Moreover, it was observed that the fibers on the scaffold promoted cell migration.