Tailoring PRGF fibrin membranes: A simple approach to enhance structural and functional properties for wound healing

BACKGROUND: Fibrin membranes are widely used in regenerative medicine, but adapting their mechanical and remodeling properties to specific tissues remains a challenge. This study evaluates how an air-drying and rehydration process affects the structural and functional properties of a plasma rich in growth factors (PRGF) fibrin membrane. METHODS: Fresh (PRGF-F) and air-dried-rehydrated (PRGF-R) membranes were compared. Physical and structural characterization included transmittance, rheology (G', G'', and tan δ at 1 Hz), and SEM morphometry (fiber diameter and porosity). Acellular stability (D-dimer quantification), release kinetics (EGF and Procollagen type I), and cell-mediated remodeling and proliferation-using human keratocytes (HK) and human corneal epithelial cells (HCE)-were evaluated. RESULTS: PRGF-R showed significantly higher transmittance than PRGF-F (max 24.4% vs. 6.8% at 730 nm). Structurally, drying-rehydration significantly reduced porosity parameters and decreased the loss tangent (tan δ), yielding a more compact, elastic network. Acellularly, PRGF-R significantly increased cumulative acellular Procollagen type I release at day 14. Biologically, day 3 HK proliferation increased 3.2-fold on PRGF-R and 2.4-fold on PRGF-F vs. day 1. PRGF-R also induced significantly higher cellular procollagen accumulation at day 8 in both cell types. Histologically, HK remodeling occurred throughout PRGF-F but was restricted to the external surface in PRGF-R. Conversely, HCE degradation (D-dimer) was significantly higher on PRGF-F at day 14. CONCLUSION: These in vitro findings demonstrate that air-drying optimizes the mechanical, structural and biological performance of PRGF membranes. These preliminary results suggest that these structural refinements enhance their regenerative potential, confirming their suitability as advanced scaffolds for clinical applications.