Biomimetic, Osteoconductive Non-mulberry Silk Fiber Reinforced Tricomposite Scaffolds for Bone Tissue Engineering

TLDR: The fabricated tricomposite scaffolds supported enhanced cellular viability and function (ALP activity) for both MG63 osteosarcoma and human bone marrow stem cells (hBMSCs) as compared to pure silk scaffolds without fiber or HA addition.

Abstract: Composite biomaterials as artificial bone graft materials are pushing the present frontiers of bioengineering In this study, a biomimetic, osteoconductive tricomposite scaffold made of hydroxyapatite (HA) embedded in non-mulberry Antheraea assama (A assama) silk fibroin fibers and its fibroin solution is explored for its osteogenic potential Scaffolds were physico-chemically characterized for morphology, porosity, secondary structure conformation, water retention ability, biodegradability, and mechanical property The results revealed a ∼5-fold increase in scaffold compressive modulus on addition of HA and silk fibers to liquid silk as compared to pure silk scaffolds while maintaining high scaffold porosity (∼90%) with slower degradation rates X-ray diffraction (XRD) results confirmed deposition of HA crystals on composite scaffolds Furthermore, the crystallite size of HA within scaffolds was strongly regulated by the intrinsic physical cues of silk fibroin Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectros