Journal
BIOMATERIALS
Volume 32, Issue 25, Pages 5773-5781Publisher
ELSEVIER SCI LTD
DOI: 10.1016/j.biomaterials.2011.04.061
Keywords
Silk fibroin; Chitosan; Scaffolds; Chondrocytes; Cartilage; Tissue engineering
Funding
- Indo-US Scientific and Technology Forum, New Delhi
- Department of Science and Technology
- Department of Biotechnology, Government of India, New Delhi
- National Institutes of Health [P41EB002520, R01EB003210]
- Howard Hughes Medical Institute
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The use of cell-scaffold constructs is a promising tissue engineering approach to repair cartilage defects and to study cartilaginous tissue formation. In this study, silk fibroin/chitosan blended scaffolds were fabricated and studied for cartilage tissue engineering. Silk fibroin served as a substrate for cell adhesion and proliferation while chitosan has a structure similar to that of glycosaminoglycans, and shows promise for cartilage repair. We compared the formation of cartilaginous tissue in silk fibroin/chitosan blended scaffolds seeded with bovine chondrocytes and cultured in vitro for 2 weeks. The constructs were analyzed for cell viability, histology, extracellular matrix components glycosaminoglycan and collagen types I and II, and biomechanical properties. Silk fibroin/chitosan scaffolds supported cell attachment and growth, and chondrogenic phenotype as indicated by Alcian Blue histochemistry and relative expression of type II versus type I collagen. Glycosaminoglycan and collagen accumulated in all the scaffolds and was highest in the silk fibroin/chitosan (1:1) blended scaffolds. Static and dynamic stiffness at high frequencies was higher in cell-seeded constructs than non-seeded controls. The results suggest that silk/chitosan scaffolds may be a useful alternative to synthetic cell scaffolds for cartilage tissue engineering. (C) 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
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