Silk hydrogel for cartilage tissue engineering.
Cartilage tissue engineering based on cultivation of immature chondrocytes in agarose hydrogel can yield tissue constructs with biomechanical properties comparable to native cartilage. However, agarose is immunogenic and nondegradable, and our capability to modify the structure, composition, and mechanical properties of this material is rather limited. In contrast, silk hydrogel is biocompatible and biodegradable, and it can be produced using a water-based method without organic solvents that enables precise control of structural and mechanical properties in a range of interest for cartilage tissue engineering. We observed that one particular preparation of silk hydrogel yielded cartilaginous constructs with biochemical content and mechanical properties matching constructs based on agarose. This finding and the possibility to vary the properties of silk hydrogel motivated this study of the factors underlying the suitability of hydrogels for cartilage tissue engineering. We present data resulting from a systematic variation of silk hydrogel properties, silk extraction method, gel concentration, and gel structure. Data suggest that silk hydrogel can be used as a tool for studies of the hydrogel-related factors and mechanisms involved in cartilage formation, as well as a tailorable and fully degradable scaffold for cartilage tissue engineering.
Chao
Pen-Hsiu Grace
PH
Institute of Biomedical Engineering, School of Engineering and School of Medicine, National Taiwan University, Taipei, Taiwan.
Yodmuang
Supansa
S
Wang
Xiaoqin
X
Sun
Lin
L
Kaplan
David L
DL
Vunjak-Novakovic
Gordana
G
D001672:Biocompatible Materials / Q000737:chemistry; D001696:Biomechanical Phenomena; D002356:Cartilage / Q000166:cytology*; D004355:Drug Stability; D006801:Humans; D020136:Hydrogel, Polyethylene Glycol Dimethacrylate / Q000737:chemistry*; D015394:Molecular Structure; D047011:Silk / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D023822:Tissue Engineering / Q000379:methods*
D001672:Biocompatible Materials; D047011:Silk; D020136:Hydrogel, Polyethylene Glycol Dimethacrylate