Sun Yan, Ku Bon-Jin, Moon Myung-Jin
Department of Biological Sciences, Dankook University, Cheonan, 31116, Korea.
Appl Microsc. 2024 Feb 10;54(1):3. doi: 10.1186/s42649-024-00096-x.
Due to the unique properties of the silk fibroin (SF) made from silkworm, SF-based hydrogels have recently received significant attention for various biomedical applications. However, research on the SF-based hydrogels isolated from spider silks has been rtricted due to the limited collection and preparation of naïve silk materials. Therefore, this study focused on the microstructural characteristics of hydrogel scaffolds derived from two types of woven silk glands: the major ampullate gland (MAG) and the tubuliform gland (TG), in the orb-web spider Trichonephila clavate. We compared these spider glands with those of the silk fibroin (SF) hydrogel scaffold extracted from the cocoon of the insect silkworm Bombyx mori. Our FESEM analysis revealed that the SF hydrogel has high porosity, translucency, and a loose upper structure, with attached SF fibers providing stability. The MAG hydrogel displayed even higher porosity, as well as elongated fibrous structures, and improved mechanical properties: while the TG hydrogel showed increased porosity, ridge-like or wall-like structures, and stable biocapacity formed by physical crosslinking. Due to their powerful and versatile microstructural characteristics, the MAG and TG hydrogels can become tailored substrates, very effective for tissue engineering and regenerative medicine applications.
由于家蚕所产丝素蛋白（SF）具有独特性能，基于SF的水凝胶最近在各种生物医学应用中受到了广泛关注。然而，由于天然蛛丝材料的收集和制备有限，对从蜘蛛丝中分离出的基于SF的水凝胶的研究受到了限制。因此，本研究聚焦于棒络新妇蛛两种织网丝腺：主壶腹腺（MAG）和管状腺（TG）衍生的水凝胶支架的微观结构特征。我们将这些蜘蛛丝腺与从家蚕茧中提取的丝素蛋白（SF）水凝胶支架进行了比较。我们的场发射扫描电子显微镜（FESEM）分析表明，SF水凝胶具有高孔隙率、半透明性和松散的上层结构，附着的SF纤维提供稳定性。MAG水凝胶显示出更高的孔隙率以及细长的纤维结构，并改善了机械性能：而TG水凝胶则表现出孔隙率增加、脊状或壁状结构以及通过物理交联形成的稳定生物活性。由于其强大且多样的微观结构特征，MAG和TG水凝胶可成为定制的基质，对组织工程和再生医学应用非常有效。
