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Lyophilized Silk Sponges: A Versatile Biomaterial Platform for Soft Tissue Engineering.

Jelena Rnjak-Kovacina1, Lindsay S Wray2, Kelly A Burke3

  • 1Department of Biomedical Engineering, Tufts University , 4 Colby Street, Medford, Massachusetts 02155, United States ; Graduate School of Biomedical Engineering, UNSW Australia , Sydney, NSW 2052, Australia.

ACS Biomaterials Science & Engineering
|May 19, 2015
PubMed
Summary

This study introduces a silk biomaterial platform for soft tissue engineering. Silk sponges with tunable properties support cell growth and tissue regeneration in vitro and in vivo.

Keywords:
biomateriallyophilized spongescaffoldsilksoft tissue engineering

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Area of Science:

  • Biomaterials Science
  • Tissue Engineering
  • Regenerative Medicine

Background:

  • Soft tissue engineering requires biomaterials with tunable mechanical and degradation properties.
  • Silk fibroin is a promising natural polymer for biomedical applications.
  • Controlling silk processing is crucial for achieving desired scaffold characteristics.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To develop a silk biomaterial platform with highly tunable mechanical and degradation properties.
  • To investigate the influence of silk molecular weight, concentration, and crystallinity on 3D scaffold formation and properties.
  • To evaluate the in vitro and in vivo performance of silk scaffolds for soft tissue regeneration.

Main Methods:

  • Preparation of lyophilized silk sponges under varied process conditions.
  • Characterization of scaffold properties including molecular weight, concentration, crystallinity, morphology, mechanical strength, and degradation rate.
  • Assessment of cell adhesion, proliferation, and infiltration using mesenchymal stem cells in vitro and subcutaneous implantation in vivo.

Main Results:

  • Tuning silk molecular weight distribution enabled the formation of stable, highly porous 3D scaffolds at low silk concentrations (0.5% wt/v).
  • Scaffold mechanical properties correlated with silk concentration, while degradation rate was influenced by beta-sheet content.
  • Silk sponges supported mesenchymal stem cell adhesion and proliferation in vitro, and cell infiltration and scaffold remodeling in vivo.

Conclusions:

  • Silk biomaterial platform offers tunable properties for soft tissue engineering.
  • Controlled silk processing allows for the fabrication of versatile 3D scaffolds.
  • These silk scaffolds demonstrate potential for skin, adipose, and neural tissue regeneration.