Silk-Laponite® fibrous membranes for bone tissue engineering

Abstract

The capacity to simulate the construction of natural extracellular matrix is an effective approach to guided bone regeneration (GBR). Here, novel nanocomposite fibrous membranes of silk fibroin (SF)-Laponite® (LAP) were developed through electrospinning approach. The membranes were considered according to the physical and mechanical characteristics, degradation rate, in vitro bioactivity evaluation and biological properties. Results showed that the optimized nanocomposite fibrous membrane with meaningfully enhanced tensile strength, toughness and elastic modules was obtained via incorporation of 5 wt% LAP nanoplates into SF membrane. LAP nanoplates incorporation in the SF membrane promoted its hydrophilicity, swelling ratio, and degradation rate, while induced apatite mineralization in simulated body fluid. Moreover, nanocomposite fibrous membranes revealed meaningfully superior cellular responses compared to SF membrane. Consequently, nanocomposite SF-LAP fibrous membranes anticipated to being appealing for GBR applications.