Nanoscale Control of Silks for Nanofibrous Scaffold Formation with Improved Porous Structure.

ABSTRACT: Silk-based porous scaffolds have been used extensively in tissue engineering because of their excellent biocompatibility, tunable biodegradability and robust mechanical properties. Although many silk-based scaffolds have been prepared through freeze-drying, a challenge remains to effectively control porous structures during this process. In the present study silk fibroin with different nanostructures were self-assembled in aqueous solution by repeated drying-dissolving process and then used to improve porous structure formation in lyophilization process. Viscosity, secondary structures and water interactions were also studied to exclude their influence on the formation and control of porous structures. Following nanofiber formation in aqueous solution, silk scaffolds with improved porous s

SUBMITTER: Lin S 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4059761 | biostudies-literature | 2014 May

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature