Premium
Biodegradation behavior of silk fibroin membranes in repairing tympanic membrane perforations
Author(s) -
Lee Ok Joo,
Lee Jung Min,
Kim Ji Heui,
Kim Jin,
Kweon HaeYong,
Jo You Young,
Park Chan Hum
Publication year - 2012
Publication title -
journal of biomedical materials research part a
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.849
H-Index - 150
eISSN - 1552-4965
pISSN - 1549-3296
DOI - 10.1002/jbm.a.33308
Subject(s) - fibroin , silk , membrane , biomaterial , materials science , in vivo , degradation (telecommunications) , biocompatible material , biomedical engineering , biodegradation , biophysics , chemistry , composite material , nanotechnology , biochemistry , biology , medicine , organic chemistry , microbiology and biotechnology , telecommunications , computer science
Abstract Silk fibroin (SF) from silkworms has been widely studied as a biomaterial. The degradation behavior of silk biomaterials is important for medical applications, but few studies have examined long‐term degradation behavior in vivo . In this study, we investigated the degradation behavior of SF membranes in vitro and in vivo . For the in vitro assay, we observed degradation of silk membranes in phosphate buffered saline, culture media, and an enzyme (proteinase K) solution. In the proteinase K solution, 80% of the silk membranes degraded within 10 days. Silk membranes exhibited no cytotoxicity toward L929 cells and rat tissues. To investigate the degradation of silk membranes in vivo , they were implanted subcutaneously in rats and harvested 19 months after surgery. Scanning electron microscopy imaging and histological analysis of silk membrane explants showed that they broke into several pieces after 16 months. Results show that silk membranes are biocompatible and display excellent long‐term degradation behavior when used as biomaterials. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Biomed Mater Res Part A, 2012.