Fibrin: An underrated biopolymer for skin tissue engineering

The ultimate goal in skin tissue regeneration is to develop artificial skin replacements for the restoration of damaged or missing skins in patients as well as to enhance wound healing processes. Fibrin, a naturally-occurring biopolymer involved in wound healing has seen widespread use in tissue engineering due to its bioactivity, biocompatibility, biodegradability, and facile processability. However, the versatile biopolymer should be further explored and more specifically for skin tissue engineering strategies due to its remarkable skin repair capacity: intrinsic healing properties, adaptable to biomaterial design from its fibrinogen and thrombin precursors and tunable physico-chemical features. Fibrin’s poor mechanical properties can be efficiently improved by combining the biopolymer with synthetic polymers such as polyethylene glycol. The aim of this commentary is to provide a concise insight on the key properties of fibrin for skin healing and regeneration, particularly highlighting the emerging role of fibrin-based hydrogels as skin substitutes.

Author(s): Olfat Gsib, Christophe Egles, Sidi A. Bencherif

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