State Key Laboratory of Molecular Engineering of Polymers, Department of Macromolecular Science, Department of Orthodontics, Shanghai Stomatological Hospital & School of Stomatology, Fudan University, Shanghai 200433, People's Republic of China.
Laboratory of Advanced Materials, Fudan University, Shanghai 200433, People's Republic of China.
ACS Biomater Sci Eng. 2023 Jul 10;9(7):4168-4177. doi: 10.1021/acsbiomaterials.3c00574. Epub 2023 Jun 23.
Hydrogels are considered to be ideal biomedical materials as their physical properties are similar to the physiological tissue environment. In particular, thixotropic hydrogels have received increasing attention from researchers because of their injectability. Herein, a simple and rapid method was developed for the preparation of a regenerated silk fibroin (RSF) hydrogel with long-lasting and excellent thixotropy. The thixotropic RSF hydrogel was readily formed by ultrasonic treatment of the pretreated RSF solution for 2 min followed by incubation at 40 °C for 10 min. The storage modulus of the RSF hydrogels recovered to more than 90% of the original value within 20 s after withstanding 1000% shear strain. By avoiding complicated chemical or physical treatments and by addition of crosslinking agents and/or other chemical components, the obtained RSF hydrogels maintained excellent biocompatibility. Hence, the cells implanted inside the hydrogel can grow and proliferate normally. By virtue of ultrasonic treatment during the preparation, functional nanoparticles can be uniformly dispersed in the RSF solution to prepare RSF-based hybrid hydrogels with various functions. As an application example, hydroxyapatite (HAP) with osteoinductivity was mixed with RSF solution to prepare the RSF/HAP hybrid hydrogel. The RSF/HAP hybrid hydrogel maintained biocompatibility and thixotropy of the original RSF hydrogel and promoted osteoblastic differentiation of cells owing to the addition of HAP. Therefore, the RSF hydrogel prepared in this work has a strong application prospect in the biomedical field including, but not limited to, bone repair.
水凝胶被认为是理想的生物医学材料，因为它们的物理性质类似于生理组织环境。特别是，触变水凝胶因其可注射性而受到研究人员越来越多的关注。本文开发了一种简单快速的方法来制备具有持久和优异触变性的再生丝素蛋白（RSF）水凝胶。通过对预处理的 RSF 溶液进行 2 分钟的超声处理，然后在 40°C 下孵育 10 分钟，很容易形成触变 RSF 水凝胶。RSF 水凝胶在经受 1000%剪切应变后，在 20 秒内恢复到原始值的 90%以上。通过避免复杂的化学或物理处理以及添加交联剂和/或其他化学组分，获得的 RSF 水凝胶保持了优异的生物相容性。因此，植入水凝胶内部的细胞可以正常生长和增殖。通过在制备过程中进行超声处理，可以将功能性纳米颗粒均匀分散在 RSF 溶液中，以制备具有各种功能的 RSF 基杂化水凝胶。作为应用实例，将具有成骨诱导性的羟基磷灰石（HAP）与 RSF 溶液混合，制备 RSF/HAP 杂化水凝胶。RSF/HAP 杂化水凝胶由于添加了 HAP，保持了原始 RSF 水凝胶的生物相容性和触变性，并促进了细胞的成骨分化。因此，本文制备的 RSF 水凝胶在包括但不限于骨修复的生物医学领域具有很强的应用前景。
