Title: Fabrication of biocomposite sheets from silk cocoons for tissue engineering applications

Authors: I. Manjubala; R. Akila; G. Priya; R. Anitha; B. Madhan; U. Narendrakumar

Addresses: Department of Biosciences, School of Biosciences and Technology, Vellore Institute of Technology, Vellore 632 014, India ' Department of Sensors and Biomedical Engineering, School of Electronics Engineering, Vellore Institute of Technology, Vellore 632 014, India ' Department of Biosciences, School of Biosciences and Technology, Vellore Institute of Technology, Vellore 632 014, India ' Department of Sensors and Biomedical Engineering, School of Electronics Engineering, Vellore Institute of Technology, Vellore 632 014, India ' Center for Academic and Research Excellence (CARE), CSIR-Central Leather Research Institute, Adyar, Chennai 600 020, India ' Department of Manufacturing Engineering, School of Mechanical Engineering, Vellore Institute of Technology, Vellore 632 014, India

Abstract: Silk based biomaterials have been explored as a natural-based system for tissue regeneration. Biocomposite sheets were fabricated by controlled deposition of hydroxyapatite (HA) on porous silk cocoon structure through precipitation method using calcium chloride dihydrate and disodium hydrogen phosphate anhydrous solutions. The formation of hydroxyapatite coating on the silk sheets was confirmed by the presence of characteristic apatite peaks in the XRD patterns. The interactions between HA and silk proteins were evidenced by a shift in the amide peaks of biocomposites as observed from the IR spectra. The mineralisation of silk sheets did not alter their thermal stability as revealed from the thermogravimetric analysis. Scanning electron microscopy of the silk sheets showed the growth of hydroxyapatite on the surface of fibrous silk networks. The tensile strength of the biocomposite sheets is decreased to 21-30 MPa when compared to native silk sheets that had 32 MPa. The properties of silk cocoon-hydroxyapatite biocomposite sheets indicate its potential as a suitable substrate for bone tissue engineering application.

Keywords: biomaterials; three-dimensional; silk cocoon; Bombyx mori; silk proteins; hydroxyapatite; biocomposite; biomineralisation; apatite crystals; bone tissue engineering.

DOI: 10.1504/IJNT.2021.116174

International Journal of Nanotechnology, 2021 Vol.18 No.5/6/7/8, pp.561 - 571

Published online: 12 Jul 2021 *

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