Related Experiment Video
Updated: May 2, 2026
Silk Film Culture System for in vitro Analysis and Biomaterial Design
Published on: April 24, 2012
Enzymatic mineralization of silk scaffolds
Sangram K Samal1, Mamoni Dash, Heidi A Declercq
1Polymer Chemistry and Biomaterials Research Group, Department of Organic Chemistry, Ghent University, Krijgslaan 281/S4-Bis, B-9000, Ghent, Belgium; Department of Biomedical Engineering, 4 Colby Street, Tufts University, Medford, MA, 02155, USA. sksamalrec@gmail.com.
Abstract:
The present study focuses on the alkaline phosphatase (ALP) mediated formation of apatitic minerals on porous silk fibroin protein (SFP) scaffolds. Porous SFP scaffolds impregnated with different concentrations of ALP are homogeneously mineralized under physiological conditions. The mineral structure is apatite while the structures differ as a function of the ALP concentration. Cellular adhesion, proliferation, and colonization of osteogenic MC3T3 cells improve on the mineralized SFP scaffolds. These findings suggest a simple process to generate mineralized scaffolds that can be used to enhanced bone tissue engineering-related utility.
