Abstract
This review supplies a report on fresh advances in the field of silk fibroin (SF) biopolymer and its blends with biopolymers as new biomaterials. The review also includes a subsection about silk fibroin mixtures with synthetic polymers. Silk fibroin is commonly used to receive biomaterials. However, the materials based on pure polymer present low mechanical parameters, and high enzymatic degradation rate. These properties can be problematic for tissue engineering applications. An increased interest in two- and three-component mixtures and chemically cross-linked materials has been observed due to their improved physico-chemical properties. These materials can be attractive and desirable for both academic, and, industrial attention because they expose improvements in properties required in the biomedical field. The structure, forms, methods of preparation, and some physico-chemical properties of silk fibroin are discussed in this review. Detailed examples are also given from scientific reports and practical experiments. The most common biopolymers: collagen (Coll), chitosan (CTS), alginate (AL), and hyaluronic acid (HA) are discussed as components of silk fibroin-based mixtures. Examples of binary and ternary mixtures, composites with the addition of magnetic particles, hydroxyapatite or titanium dioxide are also included and given. Additionally, the advantages and disadvantages of chemical, physical, and enzymatic cross-linking were demonstrated.
Highlights
Accepted: 17 March 2021Biopolymeric materials are recurrently used in the biomedical field, e.g., for wound healing, gene therapy, drug delivery, bone tissue engineering, cartilage, nerve, and eye regeneration [1,2,3,4,5,6]
We reviewed different usages of silk fibroin-based materials blended with other biopolymers and cross-linked with chemical agents, in biomedical applications based on previous research
Blending with other polymers and cross-linking can be used to improve silk fibroin-based materials properties, which can be desirable in the biomedical field, especially in tissue engineering
Summary
Biopolymeric materials are recurrently used in the biomedical field, e.g., for wound healing, gene therapy, drug delivery, bone tissue engineering, cartilage, nerve, and eye regeneration [1,2,3,4,5,6]. Materials based on polymers are to obtain implants forbone-cartilage small bone or cartilage tissue cavities Such are called scaffolds artificialmetallic, scaffolds supporting the regeneration of damaged tissue should fulfil the following. The ability ofcan cells to penetrate the entire volume of the implant (adhesion is determined by bioactivity ofare thenon-toxic polyMacromolecules that occur in living organisms (or are produced by living organisms) biomaterial does not lead to immune-response, we can eliminate the need to remove the implant after tissue reconstruction. In the last few years, silk fibroin-based gen Polymers, derived from natural sources, characterized by[31,32], properties desired in tissue engineering: biocompatibility, biodegradability, and lack of immune responses biomaterials have attracted increasing attention. Polymers, derived from natural sources, arecompiling characterized byimmune properties desired in tissue engineering: biocompatibility, biodegradability, and lack of responses after introduction into the human body [32,33]. It is foreseen that this review can provide an exhaustive compendium regarding the main aspects of silk fibroin-related research and, stimulate its future growth and applications
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