Abstract
Binary-blended hydrogels fabricated from Bombyx mori silk fibroin (SF) and recombinant spider silk protein eADF4(C16) were developed and investigated concerning gelation and cellular interactions in vitro. With an increasing concentration of eADF4(C16), the gelation time of SF was shortened from typically one week to less than 48 h depending on the blending ratio. The biological tests with primary cells and two cell lines revealed that the cells cannot adhere and preferably formed cell aggregates on eADF4(C16) hydrogels, due to the polyanionic properties of eADF4(C16). Mixing SF in the blends ameliorated the cellular activities, as the proliferation of L929 fibroblasts and SaOS-2 osteoblast-like cells increased with an increase of SF content. The blended SF:eADF4(C16) hydrogels attained the advantages as well as overcame the limitations of each individual material, underlining the utilization of the hydrogels in several biomedical applications.
Highlights
Hydrogels are well suited as scaffolds for tissue engineering due to their characteristics resembling natural extracellular matrices
The gelation of fibroin solutions was associated with the formation of heterogenous microstructures, which affected the light scattering degree in the visible range [5]
The gelation can be noticed from the point at which an abrupt change of the visiblelight absorbance value occurs
Summary
Hydrogels are well suited as scaffolds for tissue engineering due to their characteristics resembling natural extracellular matrices. Hydrogels can be applied in various biomedical fields, such as injectable hydrogels or printable bioinks for space-filling or cell/biological factor delivery [1]. Silk fibroin is a naturally derived fibrous protein which is widely used as a base material in hydrogel fabrication, due to its self-assembly, mechanical stability of the gels, and biocompatibility [2]. Silk fibroin derived from two different sources, Bombyx mori silk cocoons and recombinant spider dragline silk proteins, were chosen to form blended hydrogels, and their cytocompatibility was tested in vitro. Silk fibroin (SF) can be derived at high amounts from silkworms by isolating the SF solution from silk glands or dissolving silk cocoons with the drawback of some inhomogeneities common
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