Functional biopolymer scaffolds are in high demand for tissue regeneration. In this study, functionalized CNT was incorporated in silk fibroin to generate biocomposite fibers by electrospinning. Ethanol vapor post-treatment promoted b-sheet formation in silk fibroin, therefore, enhanced the silk-CNT interaction and improved the fiber stability in aqueous environment. It was found that the addition of a minute amount of CNT effectively improved protein fiber alignment and mechanical strength while retained high biocompatibility and decreased fiber diameter, mimicking native collagen fibers in the matrix of connective tissues. The addition of CNT also granted the fibers electrical conductivity to not only facilitate the electrospun fiber formation but also mediate the electrical stimulation of fibroblasts from patients with chronic wounds and pelvic floor connective tissue disorder.  We found that the silk-CNT fibers provided unique structural and mechanical cues to polarize and activate the fibroblasts producing collagen at a reduced collagen type I to collagen type III ratio favorable for tissue repair; due to the high conductivity, silk-CNT fibers effectively mediated the fibroblast stimulation to boost collagen productivity and suppress MMP synthesis.  Preliminary animal study verified the effectiveness of the stimulated cells in tissue repair. The developed material and method offer a simple, direct and effective way to restore the function of patients’ cells, which can be potentially used for personalized cell therapeutic treatment of diseases and health conditions associated with collagen disorder.

Electro-spun silk-CNT fibers: fabrication, characterization and application in fibroblast stimulation for connective tissue repair

Fall 2022 abstracts, posters, and presentations will launch in mid-September.

ACS Fall 2022

The official archive and repository for all ACS Meetings & Expositions abstracts and select posters or presentations.