Bilayer Heterogeneous Methacrylated Silk Fibroin Scaffold with Antibacterial and Osteoinductive Functions for...

Area of Science:

• Biomaterials Science
• Regenerative Medicine
• Orthopedic Surgery

Background:

• Infectious bone defects (IBDs) present a dual challenge: controlling infection and regenerating bone.
• Guided bone regeneration (GBR) using multifunctional scaffolds is a key strategy for IBD treatment.
• Existing treatments often struggle to simultaneously address infection and bone loss effectively.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop and characterize a novel bilayer hydrogel scaffold (DSHM) for treating IBDs.
• To integrate antibacterial and osteogenic properties into a single scaffold system.
• To evaluate the DSHM scaffold's efficacy in infection control and bone regeneration.

Main Methods:

• Fabrication of a bilayer hydrogel scaffold (DSHM) using methacrylated silk fibroin (SilMA), hydroxyapatite (HA), and minocycline hydrochloride (MH).
• Optimization of scaffold architecture with a porous HA-loaded layer (PSH) and a dense MH-loaded layer (DSM).
• Assessment of scaffold properties including mechanical strength, degradation, biocompatibility, antibacterial activity, and osteogenic potential.

Main Results:

• The DSHM scaffold exhibited a well-defined bilayer structure with enhanced mechanical properties and tunable degradation.
• The scaffold demonstrated effective inhibition of fibroblast infiltration and sustained antibacterial effects.
• Significant promotion of bone tissue regeneration and osteogenic differentiation was observed in vitro and in vivo.
• The DSHM scaffold showed excellent biocompatibility and synergistic multifunctionality.

Conclusions:

• The developed DSHM scaffold offers a robust and multifunctional approach for treating infectious bone defects.
• The scaffold's design addresses the critical need for simultaneous infection control and bone regeneration.
• The DSHM scaffold shows strong potential for clinical translation in managing IBDs.