Schwann cells (SCs) are primary structural and functional cells in peripheral nervous system and play a crucial role in peripheral nerve regeneration. Current challenge in peripheral nerve tissue engineering is to produce an implantable scaffold capable of bridging long nerve gaps and assist Scs in directing the growth of regenerating axons in nerve injury recovery. Electrospun silk fibroin nanofibers, fabricated for the cell culture in vitro, can provide such experiment support. Silk fibroin scaffolds (SFS) were fabricated with formic acid (FA), and the average fiber diameter was 305 ± 24 nm. The data from microscopic, immunohistochemical and scanning electron micrograph confirmed that the scaffold was beneficial to the adherence, proliferation and migration of SCs without exerting any significant cytotoxic effects on their phenotype. Thus, providing an experimental foundation accelerated the formation of bands of Bünger to enhance nerve regeneration. 305 nm SFS could be a candidate material for nerve tissue engineering.
In vitro evaluation of bi-layer silk fibroin scaffolds for gastrointestinal tissue engineering
