Three-Dimensionally Printed Silk-Sericin-Based Hydrogel Scaffold: A Promising Visualized Dressing Material for Real-Time Monitoring of Wounds

A wound dressing which can be convenient for real-time monitoring of wounds is particularly attractive and user-friendly. In this study, a nature-originated silk-sericin-based (SS-based) transparent hydrogel scaffold was prepared and evaluated for the visualization of wound care. The scaffold was fabricated from a hybrid interpenetrating-network (IPN) hydrogel composed of SS and methacrylic-anhydride-modified gelatin (GelMA) by 3D printing. The scaffold transformed into a highly transparent hydrogel upon swelling in PBS, and thus, anything underneath could be easily read. The scaffold had a high degree of swelling and presented a regularly macroporous structure with pores around 400 μm × 400 μm, which can help maintain the moist and apinoid environment for wound healing. Meanwhile, the scaffolds were conducive to adhesion and proliferation of L929 cells. A coculture of HaCaT and HSF cells on the scaffold showed centralized proliferation of the two cells in distributed layers, respectively, denoting a prom...