Decellularization of caprine forestomach rumen tissue modified with silver nanowires as an antibacterial skin substitute scaffold in wound care therapeutics.

In this study, caprine forestomach native collagen (CFNC) isolated from rumen tissues is reported for the first time with subsequent surface modifications with varying concentrations of silver nanowires (AgNWs). Accordingly, CFNC/AgNWs scaffolds were prepared to be used as suitable wound healing dressing materials through a sequential isolation and decellularization process, followed by step-wise AgNW surface modification and ultraviolet (UV) crosslinking. The significant outcomes of this research highlight that CFNC/AgNWs scaffolds exhibit a highly porous three-dimensional (3D) network structure with favourable physicochemical characteristics. Also, the comprehensive tensile testing demonstrated that there were changes in mechanical properties based on the AgNW content. The CFNC/AgNWs scaffolds also exhibited strong antibacterial action against E. coli and S. aureus in a dose-dependent manner. The release of Ag⁺ ions from CFNC/AgNWs scaffolds exhibited a slow and sustained release pattern over an extended period of time. The cell-biomaterial interaction studies on CFNC/AgNWs scaffolds using L929 fibroblast cells showed dose-dependent and time-dependent toxicity when the concentration exceeded above 1 mg mL^-1. The cytotoxicity is mainly due to the higher concentration of Ag⁺ ions which initiates cell death through lipid peroxidation and causes cell membrane damage. The biocompatibility test results serve as a reference point to select the optimal dosage of AgNWs with balanced antibacterial and biocompatibility properties. Thus, the developed CFNC/AgNWs scaffolds will serve as a versatile wound dressing material similar to other metallic or conjugated reconstituted collagen systems with the added benefit of strong antimicrobial properties, and as a biomimetic xenograft for skin regeneration.