A highly transparent, elastic, injectable sericin hydrogel induced by ultrasound

Abstract

A high optically transparent pure sericin hydrogel without any harmful or toxic ingredients is attractive for cell culture system and drug delivery. Here we report a novel 3D pure sericin hydrogel fabricated using ultrasonication method. Gelation time of the hydrogel could be controlled from minutes to days by regulated sonication parameters, including power output and time, as well as sericin concentration. This hydrogel possesses high optically transparence, injectability, eximious elasticity, pH-dependent degradation as well as high porosity. In addition, the hydrogel system is compatible for hosting cell and bioactive molecules owing to its excellent cell-adhesive capability, effectively promoting cell attachment, proliferation and long-term survival, along with delivering bioactive reagent in a sustained manner. Together, our study demonstrates that the sericin hydrogel may serve as a multifunctional platform for cell culture and drug delivery.