title: Nanoscale Control of Silks for Nanofibrous Scaffold Formation with Improved Porous Structure.
abstract: Silk-based porous scaffolds have been used extensively in tissue engineering because of their excellent biocompatibility, tunable biodegradability and robust mechanical properties. Although many silk-based scaffolds have been prepared through freeze-drying, a challenge remains to effectively control porous structures during this process. In the present study silk fibroin with different nanostructures were self-assembled in aqueous solution by repeated drying-dissolving process and then used to improve porous structure formation in lyophilization process. Viscosity, secondary structures and water interactions were also studied to exclude their influence on the formation and control of porous structures. Following nanofiber formation in aqueous solution, silk scaffolds with improved porous structure were directly formed after lyophilization and then stabilized with water or methanol annealing treatments. Compared to silk scaffolds derived from fresh solution, the nanofibrous scaffolds showed significantly better cell compatibilityin vitro. Therefore, this nanoscale control of silk offers feasible way to regulate the matrix features including porous structure and nanostructure, which are important in regulating cell and tissue outcomes in tissue engineering and regeneration, and then achieve silk-based scaffolds with improved properties.
authors.affiliation: National Engineering Laboratory for Modern Silk, College of Textile and Clothing Engineering, Soochow University, Suzhou 215123, People's Republic of China.
authors.forename: Shasha
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Lin
authors.affiliation: Department of Burns and Plastic Surgery, The Third Affiliated Hospital of Nantong University, Wuxi 214041, People's Republic of China.
authors.forename: Guozhong
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Lu
authors.affiliation: National Engineering Laboratory for Modern Silk, College of Textile and Clothing Engineering, Soochow University, Suzhou 215123, People's Republic of China.
authors.forename: Shanshan
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.affiliation: National Engineering Laboratory for Modern Silk, College of Textile and Clothing Engineering, Soochow University, Suzhou 215123, People's Republic of China.
authors.forename: Shumeng
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Bai
authors.affiliation: National Engineering Laboratory for Modern Silk, College of Textile and Clothing Engineering, Soochow University, Suzhou 215123, People's Republic of China.
authors.forename: Xi
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.affiliation: National Engineering Laboratory for Modern Silk, College of Textile and Clothing Engineering, Soochow University, Suzhou 215123, People's Republic of China ; Jiangsu Province Key Laboratory of Stem Cell Research, Medical College, Soochow University, Suzhou 215006, People's Republic of China.
authors.forename: Qiang
authors.initials: Q
authors.lastname: Lu
authors.affiliation: National Engineering Laboratory for Modern Silk, College of Textile and Clothing Engineering, Soochow University, Suzhou 215123, People's Republic of China.
authors.forename: Baoqi
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Zuo
authors.affiliation: Department of Biomedical Engineering, Tufts University, Medford, MA 02155, USA.
authors.forename: David L
authors.initials: DL
authors.lastname: Kaplan
authors.affiliation: Research Center of Materials Science, Beijing Institute of Technology, Beijing, 100081, People's Republic of China.
authors.forename: Hesun
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Zhu
keywords: Nanostructure; Porous structure; Scaffolds; Silk; Tissue engineering