Abstract:

BACKGROUND: Many studies have shown that silk fibroin (SF) and chitosan (CS) as natural polymer materials are non-toxic and tasteless, and they have good physical and chemical properties and biological characteristics.
OBJECTIVE: To discuss the preparation methods of three-dimensional SF/CS scaffolds which meet the requirements of cartilage tissue engineering scaffolds.
METHODS: SF and CS were mixed at different ratios such as 3 to 1, 1 to 1, 1 to 3 and 0 to 3, then to make composite materials. In order to find out the best mixing ratio of SF and CS, the following indexes including pore size, porosity, the water absorption and loss rate in hot water were determined.
RESULTS AND CONCLUSION: It was more suitable to meet the requirements when the mixed ratio of SF to CS was 1 to 1. The pore size was 90-280 μm and the average pore size was 151.72 μm. The porosity was (92.72±4.78)%. The water absorption was (92.72±4.78)%. The loss rate in hot water after crosslinking was decreased compared before crosslinking, and there was a significant difference (P < 0.05). The mixed ratio of SF to CS is at 1 to 1 meeting the physicochemical requirements of cartilage tissue engineering scaffolds. The SF/CS composite material is expected to be an ideal scaffold material for cartilage tissue engineering.