Preparation and Characterization of Electrospun PCL/Silk Fibroin Scaffolds

T. Holjevac Grgurić,Budimir Mijović,I. Vrgoč Zimić,Emilija Zdraveva,T. Dolenec,Emi Govorčin Bajsić,S. Kuzmić,Igor Slivac,N. Mrkonjić,M. Tominac Trcin

doi:10.15255/cabeq.2020.1834

Abstract

Natural polymer-based scaffolds are generally considered as favourable matrices for the adhesion and growth of cells in tissue repair. One of the most popular materials in this respect is silk fibroin, known for its wide usage in biomedical applications. This work focuses on the development of electrospun scaffolds based on poly(ε-caprolactone) (PCL) and silk fibroin (SF) evaluated regarding the SF effect on their morphology, surface wetting ability, thermal properties, and HaCaT model cell line biocompatibility. The study revealed that the lowest PCL/SF concentration resulted in highest bead-like morphology formation, relatively thick fibers with the presence of random beads in the case of PCL, while uniform and thinner fibers in the case of increasing PCL/SF content scaffolds. The addition of SF reduced the degree of crystallinity in the PCL due to the less organized crystal structure, and decreased its thermal stability. Both SEM and MTT analyses showed cell presence on all scaffolds three days after cell seeding. Although SF improved PCL hydrophilicity, as shown quantitatively by the MTT assay for improved cytocompatibility properties, more structured electrospun PCL/SF scaffold strategies are required.

Highlights

Regenerative medicine and tissue engineering are regarded as promising biomedical fields for the regeneration of damaged tissues or organs as an alternative to traditional transplantation
The results suggested that the high hydrophobicity of the pure electrospun PCL was reduced by the addition of the silk fibroin
This work focuses on the evaluation of the properties of electrospun PCL/silk fibroin (SF) scaffolds concerning their composition effects, and final HaCaT cell support function

Summary

Introduction

Regenerative medicine and tissue engineering are regarded as promising biomedical fields for the regeneration of damaged tissues or organs as an alternative to traditional transplantation. The pure electrospun PCL shows the characteristic absorption peaks at 2944 and 2865 cm–1, which are related to the asymmetrical and symmetrical stretching of the CH2 groups, respectively. The amide I vibration directly depends on the secondary structure of the silk fibroin protein backbone, and is most commonly used for the quantitative analysis of different secondary structures.[31] The absorption peak at 1516 cm–1 corresponds to amide II (secondary N–H bending vibration) due to the b-sheet structure,[32] while the absorption peak at 1238 cm–1 is related to amide III (C–N and N–H stretching).[33] The new bands are observed at 1628 and 1521 cm−1 in 16 % PCL/SF and 18 % PCL/SF electrospun scaffolds.

Results

Conclusion