Strong and Elastic Chitosan/Silk Fibroin Hydrogels Incorporated with Growth-Factor-Loaded Microspheres for Cartilage Tissue Engineering.

ABSTRACT: An emulsification method was developed for fabricating core-shell microspheres with a thick shell layer. Kartogenin (KGN) and platelet-derived growth factor BB (PDGF-BB) were respectively loaded into the core portion and the shell layer of the microspheres with high loading efficiency. The optimally built microspheres were combined with chitosan (CH) and silk fibroin (SF) to construct a new type of composite hydrogel with enhanced strength and elasticity, using genipin or/and tyrosinase as crosslinkers for the intended use in cartilage tissue engineering. The composite hydrogels were found to be thermo-responsive at physiological temperature and pH with well-defined injectability. Rheological measurements revealed that they had an elastic modulus higher than 6 kPa with a high ratio of elas

SUBMITTER: Min Q 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC9036308 | biostudies-literature | 2022 Apr

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature