Tunable Enzymatically Crosslinked Silk Fibroin Tubular Conduits for Guided Tissue Regeneration

last updated: 2018-11-30
ProjectTERM - Programa Doutoramento Norte 2020 :: publications list
TitleTunable Enzymatically Crosslinked Silk Fibroin Tubular Conduits for Guided Tissue Regeneration
Publication TypePapers in Scientific Journals
Year of Publication2018
AuthorsCarvalho C. R., Costa J. B., Morais A., López-Cebral R., Silva-Correia J., Reis R. L., and Oliveira J. M.
Abstract

Hollow tubular conduits (TCs) with tunable architecture and biological properties are in great need for modulating cells functions and drug delivery in guided tissue regeneration. Herein, a new methodology to produce enzymatically-crosslinked silk fibroin TCs is described, which takes advantage of the tyrosine groups present in silk structure that are known to allow the formation of a covalently-crosslinked hydrogel. Three different processing methods were used as a final step to modulate the properties of the silk-based TCs. This approach allows to virtually adjust any characteristic of the final TCs. The final microstructure ranged from a non-porous to a highly porous network, allowing the TCs to be selectively porous to 4 KDa molecules, but not to human skin fibroblasts. Mechanical properties were dependent both on the processing method and thickness of the TCs. Bioactivity was observed after 30 days of immersion in Simulated Body Fluid only for the TCs submitted to a drying processing method (50ºC). The in vivo study performed in CD-1 Albino mice demonstrated the good biocompatibility of the TCs. The enzymatically-crosslinked silk fibroin TCs are versatile and have adjustable characteristics that can be exploited in a variety of biomedical applications, particularly in guidance of peripheral nerve regeneration.

JournalAdvanced Healthcare Materials
Volume7
Issue17
Pagination1800186
Date Published2018-06-13
PublisherWiley
ISSN2192-2640
DOI10.1002/adhm.201800186
URLhttps://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.1002/adhm.201800186
Keywordsenzymatic crosslinking, Peripheral Nerve, Silk Fibroin, tissue regeneration, tubular conduits
RightsopenAccess
Peer reviewedyes
Statuspublished

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