Supercritical carbon dioxide assisted fabrication of biomimetic sodium alginate/silk fibroin nanofibrous scaffolds

In this study, biomimetic sodium alginate (SA)/silk fibroin (SF) scaffolds were successfully fabricated by supercritical CO2 technology. The SA/SF scaffolds exhibited an interconnected porous and extracellular matrix (ECM)-like nanofibrous structures. Moreover, the SA microparticles were embedded in the SF scaffolds. Increasing the content of SA microparticles could improve tensile strength and compressive strength of the SF scaffolds and reduce the porosity of the SF scaffolds. The addition of the SA microparticles could also regulate the degradation rate of the SA/SF scaffolds. Furthermore, the results of in vitro biocompatibility evaluation, indicated that the SA/SF scaffolds exhibited no obvious cytotoxicity and higher cell adhesion ability and were more favorable for L929 fibroblasts proliferation than pure SF scaffolds. Therefore, the SA/SF scaffolds with ECM-like nanofibrous and interconnected porous structure have potential application in skin tissue engineering.

Automated summary

In this study, biomimetic sodium alginate (SA)/silk fibroin (SF) scaffolds were fabricated using supercritical CO2 technology, exhibiting nanofibrous structures and interconnected porous properties. The addition of SA microparticles improved tensile and compressive strength, reduced porosity, and regulated degradation rate of the SF scaffolds. The scaffolds showed high biocompatibility, cell adhesion ability, and promote fibroblasts proliferation, making them potentially valuable for skin tissue engineering.