Highly Elastic and Strain Sensing Corn Protein Electrospun Fibers for Monitoring of Wound Healing

Due to the lack of sufficient elasticity and strain sensing capability, protein-based ultrafine fibrous tissue engineering scaffolds, though favorable for skin repair, can hardly fulfill on-spot wound monitoring during healing. Herein, we designed highly elastic corn protein ultrafine fibrous smart scaffolds with a three-layer structure for motion tracking at an unpackaged state. The densely cross-linked protein networks were efficiently established by introducing a highly reactive epoxy and provided the fiber substrates with wide-range stretchability (360% stretching range) and ultrahigh elasticity (99.91% recovery rate) at a wet state. With the assistance of the polydopamine bonding layer, a silver conductive sensing layer was built on the protein fibers and endowed the scaffolds with wide strain sensing range (264%), high sensitivity (gauge factor up to 210.55), short response time (<70 ms), reliable cycling stability, and long-lasting duration (up to 30 days). The unpackaged smart scaffolds could not only support cell growth and accelerate wound closure but also track motions on skin and in vivo and trigger alarms once excessive wound deformations occurred. These features not only confirmed the great potential of these smart scaffolds for applications in tissue reconstruction and wound monitoring but also proved the possibility of employing various plant protein ultrafine fibers as flexible bioelectronics.

Automated summary

Due to the lack of elasticity and strain sensing capability, protein-based ultrafine fibrous tissue engineering scaffolds cannot monitor wound during healing. In this study, we designed highly elastic corn protein ultrafine fibrous smart scaffolds with a three-layer structure for motion tracking. The protein fibers had wide-range stretchability and ultrahigh elasticity at a wet state, and the scaffolds were equipped with a silver conductive sensing layer for strain sensing. These smart scaffolds could support cell growth, accelerate wound closure, track motions on skin and in vivo, and trigger alarms for excessive wound deformations. This research demonstrates the potential of smart scaffolds for tissue reconstruction and wound monitoring.