In recent years, silk fibroin has become one of the most promising tissue engineering materials because of its excellent cytocompatibility. Poly(l-lactide-co-ε-caprolactone), the copolymer of poly(l-lactide) and poly(ε-caprolactone), possesses good mechanical properties, and its degradation rates can be manipulated by varying the ratio of the constituent polymers. In this study, in order to combine their respective characteristics, silk fibroin/poly(l-lactide-co-ε-caprolactone) nanofibrous membranes were fabricated through electrospinning with different mass ratios of 100:0, 75:25, 50:50, 25:75, and 0:100. The surface properties, thermodynamic properties, mechanical properties, and cytocompatibility of silk fibroin/poly(l-lactide-co-ε-caprolactone) blended membranes were evaluated, and an optimal blending ratio was identified. The results showed that the silk fibroin/poly(l-lactide-co-ε-caprolactone) blended membranes containing 75% of silk fibroin and 25% of poly(l-lactide-co-ε-caprolactone) achieved the most improved performances compared with the single-component membranes or the blended membranes with other mixing ratios. The results from this study indicated that 75/25 silk fibroin/poly(l-lactide-co-ε-caprolactone) blended membranes which combined the advantages of poly(l-lactide-co-ε-caprolactone) and silk fibroin might be a suitable candidate material for use in tissue engineering.
LiuSHeZXuG. Fabrication of polycaprolactone nanofibrous scaffolds by facile phase separation approach. Mater Sci Eng C2014; 44: 201–208.
2.
LuQWangXLuS. Nanofibrous architecture of silk fibroin scaffolds prepared with a mild self-assembly process. Biomaterials2011; 32: 1059–1067.
3.
DargavilleBLVaquetteCRasoulF. Electrospinning and crosslinking of low-molecular-weight poly(trimethylene carbonate-co-L-lactide) as an elastomeric scaffold for vascular engineering. Acta Biomater2013; 9: 6885–6897.
4.
DaltonPDGrafahrendDKlinkhammerK. Electrospinning of polymer melts: phenomenological observations. Polymer2007; 48: 6823–6833.
5.
PirasAMChielliniFChielliniE. New multicomponent bioerodible electrospun nanofibers for dual-controlled drug release. J Bioact Compat Pol2008; 23: 423–443.
LeeSJLiuJOhSH. Development of a composite vascular scaffolding system that withstands physiological vascular conditions. Biomaterials2008; 29: 2891–2898.
8.
GuSYWangZMRenJ. Electrospinning of gelatin and gelatin/poly(L-lactide) blend and its characteristics for wound dressing. Mater Sci Eng C2009; 29: 1822–1828.
9.
SellSAMcClureMJGargK. Electrospinning of collagen/biopolymers for regenerative medicine and cardiovascular tissue engineering. Adv Drug Deliver Rev2009; 61: 1007–1019.
10.
LiuHLiXNiuX. Improved hemocompatibility and endothelialization of vascular grafts by covalent immobilization of sulfated silk fibroin on poly(lactic-co-glycolic acid) scaffolds. Biomacromolecules2011; 12: 2914–2924.
11.
Maghdouri-WhiteYBowlinGLLemmonCA. Mammary epithelial cell adhesion, viability, and infiltration on blended or coated silk fibroin–collagen type I electrospun scaffolds. Mater Sci Eng C2014; 43: 37–44.
12.
SomvipartSKanokpanontSRangkupanR. Development of electrospun beaded fibers from Thai silk fibroin and gelatin for controlled release application. Int J Biol Macromol2013; 55: 176–184.
13.
LiuHFanHTohSL. A comparison of rabbit mesenchymal stem cells and anterior cruciate ligament fibroblasts responses on combined silk scaffolds. Biomaterials2008; 29: 1443–1453.
GongXLiuHDingX. Physiological pulsatile flow culture conditions to generate functional endothelium on a sulfated silk fibroin nanofibrous scaffold. Biomaterials2014; 35: 4782–4791.
16.
CaoYWangB. Biodegradation of silk biomaterials. Int J Mol Sci2009; 10: 1514–1524.
17.
LiuHFanHWangY. The interaction between a combined knitted silk scaffold and microporous silk sponge with human mesenchymal stem cells for ligament tissue engineering. Biomaterials2008; 29: 662–674.
18.
LiuYSHuangQLKienzleA. In vitro degradation of porous PLLA/pearl powder composite scaffolds. Mater Sci Eng C2014; 38: 227–234.
19.
SarasamAMadihallySV. Characterization of chitosan–polycaprolactone blends for tissue engineering applications. Biomaterials2005; 26: 5500–5508.
20.
KijeńskaEPrabhakaranMPSwieszkowskiW. Interaction of Schwann cells with laminin encapsulated PLCL core–shell nanofibers for nerve tissue engineering. Eur Polym J2014; 50: 30–38.
21.
JeongSIKimSHKimYH. Manufacture of elastic biodegradable PLCL scaffolds for mechano-active vascular tissue engineering. J Biomat Sci-Polym E2004; 15: 645–660.
22.
XieJJungYKimSH. New technique of seeding chondrocytes into microporous poly(L-lactide-co-ε-caprolactone) sponge by cyclic compression force-induced suction. Tissue Eng2006; 12: 1811–1820.
23.
SheikhFAJuHWMoonBM. A comparative mechanical and biocompatibility study of poly(ε-caprolactone), hybrid poly(ε-caprolactone)-silk, and silk nanofibers by colloidal electrospinning technique for tissue engineering. J Bioact Compat Pol2014; 29: 500–514.
24.
WangSZhangYWangH. Fabrication and properties of the electrospun polylactide/silk fibroin-gelatin composite tubular scaffold. Biomacromolecules2009; 10: 2240–2244.
25.
JaffeEANachmanRLBeckerCG. Culture of human endothelial cells derived from umbilical veins. Identification by morphologic and immunologic criteria. J Clin Invest1973; 52: 2745–2756.
26.
KijeńskaEPrabhakaranMPSwieszkowskiW. Electrospun bio-composite P(LLA-CL)/collagen I/collagen III scaffolds for nerve tissue engineering. J Biomed Mater Res B2012; 100: 1093–1102.
27.
NairLSBhattacharyyaSBenderJD. Fabrication and optimization of methylphenoxy substituted polyphosphazene nanofibers for biomedical applications. Biomacromolecules2004; 5: 2212–2220.
28.
ZhangYOuyangHLimCT. Electrospinning of gelatin fibers and gelatin/PCL composite fibrous scaffolds. J Biomed Mater Res B2005; 72: 156–165.
29.
PhamQPSharmaUMikosAG. Electrospinning of polymeric nanofibers for tissue engineering applications: a review. Tissue Eng2006; 12: 1197–1211.
30.
CasasolaRThomasNLTrybalaA. Electrospun poly lactic acid (PLA) fibres: effect of different solvent systems on fibre morphology and diameter. Polymer2014; 55: 4728–4737.
KaplanDLFosseySMelloCM. Biosynthesis and processing of silk proteins. MRS Bull1992; 17: 41–47.
38.
ShahverdiSHajimiriMEsfandiariMA. Fabrication and structure analysis of poly(lactide-co-glycolic acid)/silk fibroin hybrid scaffold for wound dressing applications. Int J Pharm2014; 473: 345–355.
39.
AmornsudthiwatPMongkolnavinRKanokpanontS. Improvement of early cell adhesion on Thai silk fibroin surface by low energy plasma. Colloid Surface B2013; 111: 579–586.
40.
ZhouSPengHYuX. Preparation and characterization of a novel electrospun spider silk fibroin/poly(D,L-lactide) composite fiber. J Phys Chem B2008; 112: 11209–11216.
41.
WuLLiHLiS. Composite fibrous membranes of PLGA and chitosan prepared by coelectrospinning and coaxial electrospinning. J Biomed Mater Res A2010; 92: 563–574.
42.
FangZFuWDongZ. Preparation and biocompatibility of electrospun poly(L-lactide-co-ɛ-caprolactone)/fibrinogen blended nanofibrous scaffolds. Appl Surf Sci2011; 257: 4133–4138.
43.
TangpasuthadolVPongchaisirikulNHovenVP. Surface modification of chitosan films: effects of hydrophobicity on protein adsorption. Carbohyd Res2003; 338: 937–942.
44.
WebbKHladyVTrescoPA. Relative importance of surface wettability and charged functional groups on NIH 3T3 fibroblast attachment, spreading, and cytoskeletal organization. J Biomed Mater Res1998; 41: 422–430.
45.
LeeJHLeeSJKhangG. The effect of fluid shear stress on endothelial cell adhesiveness to polymer surfaces with wettability gradient. J Colloid Interf Sci2000; 230: 84–90.
46.
WangMWangYChenY. Improving endothelialization on 316L stainless steel through wettability controllable coating by sol–gel technology. Appl Surf Sci2013; 268: 73–78.
47.
LiWJLaurencinCTCatersonEJ. Electrospun nanofibrous structure: a novel scaffold for tissue engineering. J Biomed Mater Res2002; 60: 613–621.
48.
HuangZMZhangYZRamakrishnaS. Electrospinning and mechanical characterization of gelatin nanofibers. Polymer2004; 45: 5361–5368.
49.
JeongSIJunIDChoiMJ. Development of electroactive and elastic nanofibers that contain polyaniline and poly(L-lactide-co-ε-caprolactone) for the control of cell adhesion. Macromol Biosci2008; 8: 627–637.
50.
ChristophersonGTSongHMaoHQ. The influence of fiber diameter of electrospun substrates on neural stem cell differentiation and proliferation. Biomaterials2009; 30: 556–564.
