Study on Tissue Engineering Scaffolds of Silk Fibroin-Chitosan/ Nano-Hydroxyapatite Composite

Abstract

The porous scaffolds of silk fibroin-chitosan /nano-hydroxyapatite (SF-CS / n-HA) were fabricated through the freeze- drying technique. Component, structure and morphology of scaffolds were studied by infrared (IR), X-ray diffusion (XRD) and scanning electron microscope (SEM), and the mechanical properties of the scaffolds were measured. The simulated body fluid (SBF) experiments were conducted to assess the bioactivity of the scaffolds. Results indicate that chemical binding is formed between HA and organics, the macropore diameter of the scaffolds varies from 150 to 400μm. The porous scaffolds with interconnected pores possess a high porosity of 78%-91% and compressive strength of 0.26 -1.96MPa, which can be controlled by adjusting the concentration of organic phases and prefreezing temperature. In the SBF tests, a layer of randomly oriented bone-like apatite crystals formed on the scaffold surface, which suggested that the composite material had good bioactivity. Studies suggest the feasibility of using SF-CS /n-HA composite scaffolds for bone tissue engineering.