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Structurally and Functionally Optimized Silk‐Fibroin–Gelatin Scaffold Using 3D Printing to Repair Cartilage Injury In Vitro and In Vivo
Author(s) -
Shi Weili,
Sun Muyang,
Hu Xiaoqing,
Ren Bo,
Cheng Jin,
Li Chenxi,
Duan Xiaoning,
Fu Xin,
Zhang Jiying,
Chen Haifeng,
Ao Yingfang
Publication year - 2017
Publication title -
advanced materials
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 10.707
H-Index - 527
eISSN - 1521-4095
pISSN - 0935-9648
DOI - 10.1002/adma.201701089
Subject(s) - fibroin , cartilage , scaffold , materials science , biomedical engineering , biomaterial , tissue engineering , gelatin , chondrogenesis , extracellular matrix , in vivo , silk , nanotechnology , anatomy , microbiology and biotechnology , chemistry , composite material , biology , medicine , biochemistry
Articular cartilage repair remains a great challenge for clinicians and researchers. Recently, there emerges a promising way to achieve one‐step cartilage repair in situ by combining endogenic bone marrow stem cells (BMSCs) with suitable biomaterials using a tissue engineering technique. To meet the increasing demand for cartilage tissue engineering, a structurally and functionally optimized scaffold is designed, by integrating silk fibroin with gelatin in combination with BMSC‐specific‐affinity peptide using 3D printing (3DP) technology. The combination ratio of silk fibroin and gelatin greatly balances the mechanical properties and degradation rate to match the newly formed cartilage. This dually optimized scaffold has shown superior performance for cartilage repair in a knee joint because it not only retains adequate BMSCs, due to efficient recruiting ability, and acts as a physical barrier for blood clots, but also provides a mechanical protection before neocartilage formation and a suitable 3D microenvironment for BMSC proliferation, differentiation, and extracellular matrix production. It appears to be a promising biomaterial for knee cartilage repair and is worthy of further investigation in large animal studies and preclinical applications. Beyond knee cartilage, this dually optimized scaffold may also serve as an ideal biomaterial for the regeneration of other joint cartilages.