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Preparation and characterization of biomimetic tussah silk fibroin/chitosan composite nanofibers

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Abstract

Tussah silk fibroin (TSF)/chitosan (CS) composite nanofibers were prepared to mimic extracellular matrix by electrospinning with hexafluoroisopropanol (HFIP) as a solvent. The viscosity and conductivity of TSF/CS blend solution were analyzed and the morphology, secondary structure, and thermal property of TSF/CS composite fibers were investigated by SEM, 13C CP/MAS-NMR, X-ray diffraction, and DSC Techniques. The electrospinnability of TSF solution was improved significantly by adding 10 wt% CS, and morphology of electrospun TSF nanofibers changed from flat strip to cylindrical. At the same time, the average fiber diameters decreased from 542 to 312 nm, accompanying by an obvious improvement in fiber diameter uniformity. However, when the CS content in blend solution was more than 15 wt%, the diameter of electrospun TSF/CS nanofibers appeared to be polarized which can be attributed to phase separation of the two components in composite nanofibers. Blending 10 wt% CS did not change the conformation of TSF in TSF/CS composite nanofibers, and TSF in composite nanofibers at various composition ratios had mainly taken the α-helix structure. The thermal decomposition temperature of electrospun TSF/CS composite nanofibers decreased with the increase of CS content due to the lower decomposition temperature of CS. To study the cytocompatibility and cell behavior on the TSF/CS nanofibers, human renal mesangial cells were seeded onto electrospun TSF/CS composite nanofibers. Results indicated that the addition of CS promoted cell attachment and spreading on TSF nanofibers significantly, suggesting that electrospun TSF/CS composite nanofibers could be a candidate scaffold for tissue engineering.

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Acknowledgments

This work was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant No. 51203196) and the financial supports of the United Funds from National Natural Science Foundation of China and The People’s Government of Henan Province for Cultivating Talents (Grant No. U1204510) are gratefully acknowledged.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. College of Textiles, Zhongyuan University of Technology, 41 Zhongyuan Road, P.O. Box 110, Zhengzhou, 450007, Henan, People’s Republic of China

    Jianxin He, Yanmin Cheng, PingPing Li, Yufen Zhang & Hui Zhang

  2. Henan Key Laboratory of Functional Textile Materials, Zhongyuan University of Technology, Zhengzhou, 450007, People’s Republic of China

    Jianxin He & Shizhong Cui

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  1. Jianxin He
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  2. Yanmin Cheng
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  3. PingPing Li
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  4. Yufen Zhang
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  5. Hui Zhang
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  6. Shizhong Cui
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Correspondence to Jianxin He.

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He, J., Cheng, Y., Li, P. et al. Preparation and characterization of biomimetic tussah silk fibroin/chitosan composite nanofibers. Iran Polym J 22, 537–547 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s13726-013-0153-3

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s13726-013-0153-3

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