Relationship between structure and physical strength of silk fibroin nanofiber sheet depending on insolubilization treatment

Abstract

Materials such as expanded polytetrafluoroethylene and glutaraldehyde-fixed bovine pericardium are currently used for cardiac tissue regeneration. However, patches made from these materials remain permanently without being absorbed by the body and must be replaced overtime because of degeneration or lack of growth. To improve the long-term outcomes for cardiac tissue regeneration, biocompatible and biodegradable materials must be used. In this study, we used two biocompatible polymers, silk fibroin (SF), which is biodegradable and segmented polyurethane, to prepare nonwoven sheets that were then insolubilized by water vapor or methanol treatment. The tensile stress increased significantly on adding segmented polyurethane to pure SF and the water vapor processed sheets showed higher extension on strain than the methanol-processed sheets. The different insolubilization treatments also resulted in different SF structures. Our results show that it is possible to obtain the physical properties required for cardiac tissue repair patch by varying the insolubilization treatment.

Compatibility Evaluation of Non-Woven Sheet Composite of Silk Fibroin and Polyurethane in the Wet State

“…Silk fibers were obtained from Bombyx mori cocoons and degummed as previously described [25]. Briefly, silk fibers were obtained by reeling and weaving silk cocoons in boiled water at 80 °C for about 15 min.…”