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Optimized production of a high‐performance hybrid biomaterial: biomineralized spider silk for bone tissue engineering
Author(s) -
Dellaquila Alessandra,
Greco Gabriele,
Campodoni Elisabetta,
Mazzocchi Mauro,
Mazzolai Barbara,
Tampieri Anna,
Pugno Nicola M.,
Sandri Monica
Publication year - 2020
Publication title -
journal of applied polymer science
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.575
H-Index - 166
eISSN - 1097-4628
pISSN - 0021-8995
DOI - 10.1002/app.48739
Subject(s) - materials science , nucleation , biomaterial , spider silk , biocompatibility , silk , chemical engineering , fourier transform infrared spectroscopy , surface modification , tissue engineering , nanotechnology , composite material , biomedical engineering , chemistry , organic chemistry , engineering , medicine , metallurgy
ABSTRACT Silks have been widely used as biomaterials due to their biocompatibility, biodegradability, and excellent mechanical properties. In the present work, native spider silk was used as organic template for controlled nucleation of hydroxyapatite (HA) nano‐coating that can act as biomimetic interface. Different bio‐inspired neutralization methods and process parameters were evaluated to optimize the silk functionalization. The morphology and chemical composition were investigated by scanning electron microscopy, energy‐dispersive X‐ray spectroscopy, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, and X‐ray diffraction analysis and mechanical properties were studied through tensile tests. Results showed that the optimized protocol enabled a controlled and homogeneous nucleation of apatite nano‐crystals while maintaining silk mechanical performances after mineralization. This study reports the optimization of a simple and effective bio‐inspired nucleation process for precise nucleation of HA onto spider silk templates, suitable to develop high‐performance hybrid interfaces for bone tissue engineering. © 2019 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 2020 , 137 , 48739.