Transparent, Nanostructured Silk Fibroin Hydrogels with Tunable Mechanical Properties

Rheumatoid arthritis is a rheumatic disease for which a healing treatment does not presently exist. Silk fibroin has been extensively studied for use in drug delivery systems due to its uniqueness, versatility and strong clinical track record in medicine. However, in general, natural polymeric materials are not mechanically stable enough, and have high rates of biodegradation. Thus, synthetic materials such as gellan gum can be used to produce composite structures with biological signals to promote tissue-specific interactions while providing the desired mechanical properties. In this work, we aimed to produce hydrogels of tyramine-modified gellan gum with silk fibroin (Ty–GG/SF) via horseradish peroxidase (HRP), with encapsulated betamethasone, to improve the biocompatibility and mechanical properties, and further increase therapeutic efficacy to treat rheumatoid arthritis (RA). The Ty–GG/SF hydrogels presented a β-sheet secondary structure, with gelation time around 2–5 min, good resistance to enzymatic degradation, a suitable injectability profile, viscoelastic capacity with a significant solid component and a betamethasone-controlled release profile over time. In vitro studies showed that Ty–GG/SF hydrogels did not produce a deleterious effect on cellular metabolic activity, morphology or proliferation. Furthermore, Ty–GG/SF hydrogels with encapsulated betamethasone revealed greater therapeutic efficacy than the drug applied alone. Therefore, this strategy can provide an improvement in therapeutic efficacy when compared to the traditional use of drugs for the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis.

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Is Dialdehyde Chitosan a Good Substance to Modify Physicochemical Properties of Biopolymeric Materials?

International Journal of Molecular Sciences ◽

10.3390/ijms22073391 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 22 (7) ◽

pp. 3391

Author(s):

Sylwia Grabska-Zielińska ◽

Alina Sionkowska ◽

Ewa Olewnik-Kruszkowska ◽

Katarzyna Reczyńska ◽

Elżbieta Pamuła

Keyword(s):

Mechanical Properties ◽

Tissue Engineering ◽

Physicochemical Properties ◽

Silk Fibroin ◽

Three Dimensional ◽

Microscopy Imaging ◽

Maximum Deformation ◽

One Step ◽

Chitosan Blends ◽

Fourier Transfer Infrared Spectroscopy

The aim of this work was to compare physicochemical properties of three dimensional scaffolds based on silk fibroin, collagen and chitosan blends, cross-linked with dialdehyde starch (DAS) and dialdehyde chitosan (DAC). DAS was commercially available, while DAC was obtained by one-step synthesis. Structure and physicochemical properties of the materials were characterized using Fourier transfer infrared spectroscopy with attenuated total reflectance device (FTIR-ATR), swelling behavior and water content measurements, porosity and density observations, scanning electron microscopy imaging (SEM), mechanical properties evaluation and thermogravimetric analysis. Metabolic activity with AlamarBlue assay and live/dead fluorescence staining were performed to evaluate the cytocompatibility of the obtained materials with MG-63 osteoblast-like cells. The results showed that the properties of the scaffolds based on silk fibroin, collagen and chitosan can be modified by chemical cross-linking with DAS and DAC. It was found that DAS and DAC have different influence on the properties of biopolymeric scaffolds. Materials cross-linked with DAS were characterized by higher swelling ability (~4000% for DAS cross-linked materials; ~2500% for DAC cross-linked materials), they had lower density (Coll/CTS/30SF scaffold cross-linked with DAS: 21.8 ± 2.4 g/cm3; cross-linked with DAC: 14.6 ± 0.7 g/cm3) and lower mechanical properties (maximum deformation for DAC cross-linked scaffolds was about 69%; for DAS cross-linked scaffolds it was in the range of 12.67 ± 1.51% and 19.83 ± 1.30%) in comparison to materials cross-linked with DAC. Additionally, scaffolds cross-linked with DAS exhibited higher biocompatibility than those cross-linked with DAC. However, the obtained results showed that both types of scaffolds can provide the support required in regenerative medicine and tissue engineering. The scaffolds presented in the present work can be potentially used in bone tissue engineering to facilitate healing of small bone defects.

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3D Printing of High Viscosity Reinforced Silicone Elastomers

Polymers ◽

10.3390/polym13142239 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 13 (14) ◽

pp. 2239

Author(s):

Nicholas Rodriguez ◽

Samantha Ruelas ◽

Jean-Baptiste Forien ◽

Nikola Dudukovic ◽

Josh DeOtte ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Mechanical Properties ◽

High Performance ◽

New Technologies ◽

Three Dimensional ◽

High Viscosity ◽

Layer By Layer ◽

Silicone Elastomers ◽

Uv Curable ◽

Octet Truss ◽

Tunable Mechanical Properties

Recent advances in additive manufacturing, specifically direct ink writing (DIW) and ink-jetting, have enabled the production of elastomeric silicone parts with deterministic control over the structure, shape, and mechanical properties. These new technologies offer rapid prototyping advantages and find applications in various fields, including biomedical devices, prosthetics, metamaterials, and soft robotics. Stereolithography (SLA) is a complementary approach with the ability to print with finer features and potentially higher throughput. However, all high-performance silicone elastomers are composites of polysiloxane networks reinforced with particulate filler, and consequently, silicone resins tend to have high viscosities (gel- or paste-like), which complicates or completely inhibits the layer-by-layer recoating process central to most SLA technologies. Herein, the design and build of a digital light projection SLA printer suitable for handling high-viscosity resins is demonstrated. Further, a series of UV-curable silicone resins with thiol-ene crosslinking and reinforced by a combination of fumed silica and MQ resins are also described. The resulting silicone elastomers are shown to have tunable mechanical properties, with 100–350% elongation and ultimate tensile strength from 1 to 2.5 MPa. Three-dimensional printed features of 0.4 mm were achieved, and complexity is demonstrated by octet-truss lattices that display negative stiffness.

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Investigation of the biological activity, mechanical properties and wound healing application of a novel scaffold based on lignin–agarose hydrogel and silk fibroin embedded zinc chromite nanoparticles

RSC Advances ◽

10.1039/d1ra01300a ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 11 (29) ◽

pp. 17914-17923

Author(s):

Reza Eivazzadeh-Keihan ◽

Hooman Aghamirza Moghim Aliabadi ◽

Fateme Radinekiyan ◽

Mohammad Sobhani ◽

Farzane khalili ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Mechanical Properties ◽

Wound Healing ◽

Biological Activity ◽

Silk Fibroin ◽

Agarose Hydrogel ◽

Novel Scaffold ◽

Fibroin Solution ◽

Zinc Chromite

Given the important aspects of wound healing approaches, in this work, an innovative biocompatible nanobiocomposite scaffold was designed and prepared based on cross-linked lignin–agarose hydrogel, extracted silk fibroin solution, and zinc chromite (ZnCr2O4) nanoparticles.

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