Silk Fibroin/Wool Keratin Composite Scaffold With Hierarchical Fibrous and Porous Structure.

Abstract

The present study describes a silk microfiber reinforced meniscus scaffold (SMRMS) with hierarchical fibrous and porous structure made from silk fibroin (SF) and wool keratin (WK) using electrospinning and freeze-drying technology. This study focused on the morphology, secondary structure, mechanical properties and water absorption properties of the scaffold. The cytotoxicity and biocompatibility of SMRMS were assessed in vivo and in vitro. The scaffold showed hierarchical fibrous and porous structure, hierarchical pore size distribution (ranges from 50µm to 650µm), robust mechanical properties (compression strength can reach at 2.8MPa) and stable biodegradability. A positive growth condition revealed by in vitro cytotoxicity testing indicated that the scaffold was not hazardous to cells. In vivo assessments of biocompatibility revealed that only a mild inflammatory reaction was present in implanted rat tissue. Meniscal scaffold made of SF/WK composite shows a potential application prospect in meniscal repair engineering field with its development. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.