Three-dimensional silk impregnated HAp/PHBV nanofibrous scaffolds for bone regeneration

Three-dimensional silk fibroin impregnated poly(3-hydroxybutyrate-co-3-hydroxyvalerate) (PHBV) nanofibrous scaffolds with or without hydroxyapatite (HAp) were prepared by wet-electrospinning method followed by freeze-drying. Scaffolds with cotton wool-like structure have the average fiber diameter of 450–850 nm with 80–85% porosity. In-vitro cell culture tests using MG-63 osteosarcoma human cells revealed improved cell viability, alkaline phosphatase (ALP) activity and total cellular protein amount on the silk impregnated scaffolds compared to PHBV and HAp/PHBV scaffolds after 10 days of cell culture. Immunohistochemical analyses on the silk impregnated scaffolds showed that HAp triggered cell penetration and type I collagen production. Besides, HAp mineralization tendency increased with a decrease in percent crystallinity of the scaffolds comprising HAp and silk after 4 weeks of incubation in simulated body fluid. Consequently, cotton wool-like HAp/PHBV-SF scaffold would be a promising candidate ...