Akademik Veri Yönetim Sistemi
ChemistrySelect, cilt.11, sa.4, 2026 (SCI-Expanded, Scopus)
The skin, as the body's outermost protective organ, is highly vulnerable to burns, trauma, and chronic wounds that impair its structural and functional integrity. Traditional wound healing approaches, including autografts and synthetic substitutes, face challenges such as donor site morbidity, infection risk, and poor integration. Natural polymers and plant-based systems are promising candidates to current applications. Decellularization technology offers a promising alternative by removing cellular components while preserving the extracellular matrix (ECM), thus providing a biocompatible scaffold that supports regeneration. Plant-derived scaffolds present significant advantages such as biocompatibility, abundance, and structural similarity to native ECM. In this study, Pelargonium x hortorum (zonal geranium) leaves, known for their antimicrobial, antioxidant, and wound-healing properties, were decellularized and evaluated as a potential scaffold for skin tissue regeneration for the first time. Mechanical analyses and swelling capacity confirmed preservation of surface integrity and elasticity after decellularization. Furthermore, biocompatibility assays using human keratinocytes (HaCaT) demonstrated favorable cell adhesion and proliferation on surface. These findings suggest that decellularized Pelargonium x hortorum leaves represent a sustainable, plant-based biomaterial with promising potential for advanced wound dressing applications.