Treatment of extensive third degree burns especially in the case of limited skin donor sites for obtaining autologous split thickness skin grafts (STSG) has led to in vitro expansion of keratinocytes. Cultured epidermal autologous (CEA) sheets have been used for burn treatment for several years. However time consuming processes of isolation and cultivation of keratinocytes as well as difficult procedures of detachment of CEA from cultured flasks made scientists to develop the technique of spraying of cultured single keratinocytes (CSK) instead of CEA. Chitosan is a well known wound dressing biomaterial which has characteristic biological and medical applications. In this study the method of CSK was carried out to find out whether there would be any significant difference between treatments of burns with CSK alone in comparison to that covered with chitosan gel at neutral pH. Thirty male Wistar rats were selected and their keratinocytes were isolated and cultured from small skin biopsy. Rats were divided randomly into 3 equal groups and three full-thickness round burn wounds were created on their back. They were treated with normal saline (control group), CSK (test group1) and CSK + neutral chitosan (CSK+ NCH) (test group2). The wounds were photographed on selected days (0, 3, 5, 7, 10 and 14) and the percentage of wounds contraction was calculated with image analyzer. Biopsy samples were taken as well for histological studies. The results showed faster wound contraction for CSK and CSK+ NCH groups during 14 days period than control group (P<0.05(. Also more contraction was found in groups treated with CSK and CSK+ NCH in 7 days (P<0.05). Histological observations showed significant difference in inflammation and fibrotic tissue formation between groups but other parameters did not show any remarkable difference. It can be concluded that chitosan could prevent cells from dripping out of the wound and also speed up the wound contraction and extend the fibrotic tissue formation but it did not have any effect on fastening the re-epithelialization and granulation tissue formation during 14 days.

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