Silk fibroin as a non-thrombogenic biomaterial

Silk fibroin (SF), is a very attractive protein-polymer, being processed into a variety of formats to match structural and morphological features for specific biomedical applications. The aim of the present work is to investigate blood compatibility of two forms, films and scaffolds, of silk fibroin-N,N' methylene bisacrylamide (MBA) prepared by using blend solutions of the two components. Biofilms were prepared under UV-irradiation while scaffolds were prepared via freeze-drying technique at -30°C and -80°C, respectively. Swelling, biodegradation tests with protease enzyme, FTIR, SEM, XRD analyses were applied to characterize the biomaterials. The results indicated that, the presence of the crosslinker (MBA) in the scaffold and biofilm aids the formation of ordered structure. The pore size and biodegradability can be controllable by the amount of crosslinker. The anticoagulant activity was evaluated using prothrombin time (PT), activated partial thromboplastin time (APTT). The in-vitro coagulation test and platelet adhesion test analyses indicated that the modified scaffolds and biofilms exhibited better hemocompatibility in comparison with pure silk fibroin. These results demostrated that the silk fibrion-N,N' methylene bisacrylamide biofilms and blended scaffolds have potential applications as blood contact device.