Abstract
In this study, we aimed at constructing polycaprolactone (PCL) reinforced keratin/bioactive glass composite scaffolds with a double cross-linking network structure for potential bone repair application. Thus, the PCL-keratin-BG composite scaffold was prepared by using keratin extracted from wool as main organic component and bioactive glass (BG) as main inorganic component, through both cross-linking systems, such as the thiol-ene click reaction between abundant sulfhydryl groups of keratin and the unsaturated double bond of 3-methacryloxy propyltrimethoxy silane (MPTS), and the amino-epoxy reaction between amino groups of keratin and the epoxy group in (3-glycidoxymethyl) methyldiethoxysilane (GPTMS) molecule, along with introduction of PCL as a reinforcing agent. The success of the thiol-ene reaction was verified by the FTIR and 1H-NMR analyses. And the structure of keratin-BG and PCL-keratin-BG composite scaffolds were studied and compared by the FTIR and XRD characterization, which indicated the successful preparation of the PCL-keratin-BG composite scaffold. In addition, the SEM observation, and contact angle and water absorption rate measurements demonstrated that the PCL-keratin-BG composite scaffold has interconnected porous structure, appropriate pore size and good hydrophilicity, which is helpful to cell adhesion, differentiation and proliferation. Importantly, compression experiments showed that, when compared with the keratin-BG composite scaffold, the PCL-keratin-BG composite scaffold increased greatly from 0.91 ± 0.06 MPa and 7.25 ± 1.7 MPa to 1.58 ± 0.21 MPa and 14.14 ± 1.95 MPa, respectively, which suggesting the strong reinforcement of polycaprolactone. In addition, the biomineralization experiment and MTT assay indicated that the PCL-keratin-BG scaffold has good mineralization ability and no-cytotoxicity, which can promote cell adhesion, proliferation and growth. Therefore, the results suggested that the PCL-keratin-BG composite scaffold has the potential as a candidate for application in bone regeneration field.Graphical
Highlights
In recent years, people pay more and more attention to bone defects due to traffic accidents, sports injuries and diseases [1,2,3]
It can be found that the stretching vibration peak of the bond C=C (1637 cm−1) was weakened in keratinMPTS, which indicated that the double bonds participated in the thiol-ene reaction
The C–S–C stretching vibration peak appeared at 1156 cm−1, which indicated that the double bonds of methacryloxy propyltrimethoxy silane (MPTS) have really reacted with the thiol groups in keratin
Summary
People pay more and more attention to bone defects due to traffic accidents, sports injuries and diseases [1,2,3]. The high cost, poor mechanical strength, rapid degradation of collagen limit its practical applications It has become one of the important research directions to explore new alternative materials. Hydrophobicity and lack of functional groups that for cells growth and proliferation limit its interactions between cells These problems could be solved by modifying PCL with hydrophilic materials to enhance its cell compatibility and bone regeneration ability [19]. As it is well known, the mechanical strength of scaffolds for bone repair is very important, but its great improvement is still a challenge. It is worth noting that it is a good and promising strategy to combine the excellent cytocompatibility of hydrophilic natural polymer with the excellent mechanical properties of synthetic polymer
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