Structurally and functionally optimized silk fibroin-alginate-based biomimetic scaffolds reinforced with nanobioceramics for bone tissue engineering applications

Sep 30, 2026

Uploaded by Mimi

This study prepares chemically crosslinked silk fibroin and sodium alginate biomimetic scaffolds reinforced with bioceramic nanohydroxyapatite for bone tissue engineering. Pore size is tuned by adjusting the SF/nHAp/Alg biocomposite composition, with a 40:20:40 ratio achieving rapid, high swelling over 1700% within 70 minutes. In vitro degradation remains controlled, requiring more than 30 days for 50% degradation, while mechanical testing shows intact structure under loads around 800 times the scaffold’s own weight. Synthetic peptide salmon calcitonin loading reduces initial burst release and supports sustained delivery up to two weeks. Biocompatibility is assessed via cell viability and hemolysis assays, and in vivo mouse, histological, immunological, and chick chorioallantoic membrane results demonstrate supportive osteogenic, angiogenic, and safety profiles.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryHealthcare

FormatPDF

Pages21

Reading Time53 min

AccessFree to download

Abstract

Introduction

Nguyen et al. Journal of Nanobiotechnology (2026) 24:16 [https://doi.org/10.1186/s12951-025-03816-x](https://doi.org/10.1186/s12951-025-03816-x) Journal of Nanobiotechnology RESEARCH Open Access Structurally and functionally optimized silk fibroin-alginate-based biomimetic scaffolds reinforced with nanobioceramics for bone tissue engineering applications Thanh-Mai Ngoc Nguyen2,1†, Ngoc-Han Hoai Le2†, Mohanapriya Murugesan3†, Gopinathan Janarthanan4, Panchanathan Manivasagan5, Cuong Hung Luu6, Diep Phan9, Eue-Soon Jang5, Yi Li7, V. H. Giang Phan2, Sanjairaj Vijayavenkataraman4*, João Conde8* and Thavasyappan Thambi3,10*† Abstract In this study, we prepared chemically crosslinked silk fibroin (SF) and sodium alginate (Alg) biomimetic scaffolds reinforced with bioceramic nanohydroxyapatite (nHAp) for bone tissue engineering (BTE) applications. The pore sizes of these scaffolds were effectively controlled by varying the composition of the SF/nHAp/ Alg biocomposites. The scaffold prepared with a 40:20:40 SF: nHAp: Alg ratio exhibited excellent swelling properties, reaching over 1700% within 70 min. In vitro degradation studies demonstrated that these biomimetic scaffolds exhibited controlled degradation, taking over 30 days to achieve 50% degradation. The scaffolds also showed good mechanical properties; they maintained structural integrity and did not break, even under a load approximately 800 times their own weight. Additionally, scaffolds loaded with synthetic peptide salmon calcitonin effectively controlled initial burst release and enabled sustained therapeutics delivery for up to two weeks. The biocompatibility of the scaffolds was evaluated using in vitro cell viability and hemolysis assays, which revealed good safety for human dermal fibroblast cells and negligible toxicity to rabbit red blood cells. Importantly, the scaffolds promoted cell proliferation and alkaline phosphatase secretion in human bone marrow stem cells. Histological and immunological analyses in a scaffold-implanted mouse model have demonstrated biocompatibility, supporting osteoclastic resorption and osteoblastic mineral ization by downregulating RANKL. Furthermore, the chick chorioallantoic membrane assay showed the excellent angiogenic properties of the scaffold. †Thanh-Mai Ngoc Nguyen, Ngoc-Han Hoai Le, Mohanapriya Murugesan contributed equally to this work. *Correspondence: Sanjairaj Vijayavenkataraman [vs89@nyu.edu](vs89@nyu.edu) João Conde [joao.conde@nms.unl.pt](joao.conde@nms.unl.pt)[ ](joao.conde@nms.unl.pt)Thavasyappan Thambi [thambi@khu.ac.kr](thambi@khu.ac.kr) Full list of author information is available at the end of the article © The Author(s) 2025. Open Access This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License, which permits any non-commercial use, sharing, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons licence, and indicate if you modified the licensed material. You do not have permission under this licence to share adapted material derived from this article or parts of it. The images or other third party material in this article are included in the article’s Creative Commons licence, unless indicated otherwise in a credit line to the material. If material is not included in the article’s Creative Commons licence and your intended use is not permitted by statutory regulation or exceeds the permitted use, you will need to obtain permission directly from the copyright holder. To view a copy of this licence, visit [http://creati](http://creati)[vecommons.org/l](vecommons.org/l)icenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/. Nguyen et al. Journal of Nanobiotechnology (2026) 24:16 Page 2 of 21 These results suggest that the bioceramic-reinforced SF/Alg biomimetic scaffold has significant potential for use in BTE. Keywords Silk fibroin, Hydroxyapa

FAQs

What biomimetic scaffolds were developed in the study?

Chemically crosslinked silk fibroin and sodium alginate scaffolds were reinforced with bioceramic nanohydroxyapatite for bone tissue engineering applications.

How was the scaffold pore size controlled and what swelling performance was achieved?

Pore sizes were tuned by varying the SF/nHAp/Alg biocomposite composition. The 40:20:40 ratio achieved swelling above 1700% within 70 minutes.

How do the scaffolds perform for degradation, mechanics, and peptide release?

They exhibit controlled degradation, taking over 30 days to reach 50% degradation, and maintain structural integrity under loads about 800 times their own weight. Salmon calcitonin-loaded scaffolds limit initial burst and enable sustained delivery for up to two weeks.

Sep 30, 2026

Uploaded by Mimi