A Novel Crosslinking Approach for Biomanufacturing of a Collagen-Based Skin Dermal Template

This study introduces a novel crosslinking process for collagen-based skin dermal templates, using UV irradiation followed by glutaraldehyde (GA) crosslinking, which reduces the crosslinking time from 48 to 24 hours compared to traditional methods. The new collagen sponge template supports better proliferation of human dermal fibroblast cells and shows similar regeneration of full-thickness skin wounds in mouse models compared to the commercial Integra template. Importantly, the sponge template does not trigger abnormal angiogenic or immune responses, suggesting it as a promising alternative for collagen sponge scaffold production in treating third-degree burns.