Cell-compatible PHB/silk fibroin composite nanofibermat for tissue engineering applications

Abstract

Cell compatibility is one of the prominent requirements for the fabrication of tissue engineering materials. Silk fibroin (SF) is an excellent material for biomedical applications and shows desirable properties such as good compatibility, minimal tissue reaction, and tailorable degradability. Poly[(R)-3-hydroxybutyrate] (PHB) has a high percentage of crystallinity and a high melting temperature. In this study, PHB and SF were blended together to improve the mechanical properties of the SF fibrous structure and the crystallinity of PHB. Furthermore, the cell-biomaterial interaction on the PHB/SF composite scaffold was expected to be enhanced via the SF. For this purpose, PHB/SF composite scaffolds were prepared through the use of the electrospinning technique, which is a unique method for the production of biomaterials on the nanoscale intended for tissue engineering. PHB/SF scaffolds were prepared with different SF contents and a suitable electrospinning condition was chosen in terms of structure and fiber diameter. The average fiber diameter was 92 ± 2.6 nm at a flow rate of 0.4 mL/h, distance of 20 cm, polymer concentration of PHB/SF-0 of 7%:18% (w/w) or 1:1 (v/v), and voltage of 20 kV. Mechanical and crystalline properties of the PHB/SF scaffold were investigated. Adhesion and proliferation of L929 and HaCaT (mouse fibroblast and immortalized human keratinocyte cell lines) on PHB/SF-0 were examined.

Oxygen Plasma Treated-Electrospun Polyhydroxyalkanoate Scaffolds for Hydrophilicity Improvement and Cell Adhesion

“…The fibroblasts present already an elongation of their shape in direction of the fiber axis stretching to adhesion points on adjacent fibers. This cell behavior is similar to other observations reported earlier involving fibroblast culture onto electrospun fibers, for example for mouse fibroblast cells (L929) cultured onto a P(3HB)/silk fibroin composite nanofiber mats [ 69 ].…”

Review of Hybrid Materials Based on Polyhydroxyalkanoates for Tissue Engineering Applications

“…The addition of SF to PHB decreased the WCA of the PHB/SF nanofibrous scaffold. The PHB/SF composite scaffold (50/50 PHB/SF) showed excellent attachment behavior to L929 and HaCaT cells [ 50 ]. Fibroblasts demonstrate better adhesion on PHBV/SF nanofibrous scaffolds than pure PHBV scaffolds since the hydrophilicity of the materials is helpful for the absorption of fibronectin, which is essential for fibroblast adhesion in vitro [ 51 ].…”

“…For example, SF-modified PHBHHx films have the maximum tensile strength, and the elongation at break is slightly lower than that of PHBHHx films [ 12 ]. The combination of SF with PHB led to an increase in elongation at break for the PHB/SF composite and a decrease in tensile and yield strength in comparison to pure PHB [ 50 ]. The increase in CTS in the PHB/CTS composite decreases the tensile strength of the scaffolds [ 32 ].…”

Recent developments in the synthesis of poly(hydroxybutyrate) based biocomposites

“…Silk can be used to develop biocomposite with PHB to improve the surface hydrophilicity, brittleness, and biocompatibility of the biocomposite. Karahaliloglu et al reported the synthesis of PHB/silk composite. In that study, the scaffolds of developed PHB/silk composite were prepared through electrospinning technique for biomaterial production at nanoscale.…”

“…Its properties make it suitable to prepare biocomposites. PHB/silk fibroin biocomposite are observed for better attachment to cell surface for tissue regeneration because silk fibroin has fibrous proteins . Likewise, PEG is the most important nontoxic biopolymer, which is approved by FDA for its potential medical applications .…”