Enhanced properties of injectable chitosan-based thermogelling hydrogels by silk fibroin and longan seed extract for bone tissue engineering

In this study, the injectable thermogelling hydrogels under physiological temperature were prepared using chitosan (CS) and silk fibroin (SF). These hydrogels were loaded with crude water extract of longan seed (WLS) to improve osteoblast differentiation and stimulate mineralization in bone cells. These hydrogels showed a sol-to-gel transition time at 37 degrees C approximately 4-10 min and the formation of microstructure with small slender pores. The cumulative released amount of both GA and EA from the CS hydrogels was much lower than that from the CS/SF hydrogels. In addition, these hydrogels showed non-cytotoxic to both mouse fibroblast cell line (NCTC clone 929) and mouse osteoblast cell line (MC3T3-E1) and improved the attachment and proliferation of MC3T3-E1 cells on the hydrogels. Furthermore, these hydrogels showed antimicrobial activity against both E. coli and S. aureus. Therefore, these hydrogels might be potential materials as drug delivery carriers for bone tissue engineering. (C) 2019 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.