Electrospun Silk Fibroin-CNT Composite Fibers: Characterization and Application in Mediating Fibroblast Stimulation

Electrospinning is a simple, low-cost, and highly efficient technique to generate desirable nano/microfibers from polymer solutions. Silk fibroin (SF), a biopolymer found in Bombyx mori cocoons, has attracted attention for various biomedical applications. In this study, functionalized CNT was incorporated in SF to generate biocomposite fibers by electrospinning. The electrospun (E-spun) fibers were well aligned with morphology mimicking the locally oriented ECM proteins in connective tissues. While as-spun fibers dissolved in water in just two minutes, ethanol vapor post-treatment promoted β-sheet formation leading to improved fiber stability in an aqueous environment (>14 days). The addition of a minute amount of CNT effectively improved the E-spun fiber alignment and mechanical strength while retained high biocompatibility and biodegradability. The fibers’ electrical conductivity increased by 13.7 folds and 21.8 folds, respectively, in the presence of 0.1 w% and 0.2 w% CNT in SF fibers. With aligned SF-CNT 0.1 % fibers as a cell culture matrix, we found electrical stimulation effectively activated fibroblasts from patients of pelvic organ prolapse (POP), a connective tissue disorder. The stimulation boosted the fibroblasts’ productivity of collagen III (COLIII) and collagen I (COLI) by 74 folds and 58 folds, respectively, and reduced the COLI to COLIII ratio favorable for tissue repair. The developed material and method offer a simple, direct, and effective way to remedy the dysfunctional fibroblasts of patients for personalized cell therapeutic treatment of diseases and health conditions associated with collagen disorder.