Fabrication and characterization of layered chitosan/silk fibroin/nano-hydroxyapatite scaffolds with designed composition and mechanical properties

Chitosan/nano-hydroxyapatite (HA) composites were first prepared and then used together with chitosan and silk fibroin (SF) to produce a type of four-layer porous scaffold that is potentially applicable for articular cartilage repair. The bottom layer of the scaffold was built with the chitosan/HA composite and the other three layers of the scaffold were fabricated using chitosan/SF composites in which the content of the chitosan and SF was altered in a mutually reversed trend. The so-produced chitosan/SF/HA scaffolds were further crosslinked using tripolyphosphate to achieve enhanced mechanical properties. Interconnected porous microstructures throughout the scaffolds were constructed using a temperature gradient processing technique, and the resultant scaffolds were endowed with graded pore-sizes and porosities as well as porous interface zones between contiguous layers without visual clefts. The compressive modulus and stress at 10% strain of the scaffolds in wet state showed a gradient-changed trend which partially mimics the compressive mechanical properties of an articular cartilage matrix. Cell culture on some chitosan/SF/HA scaffolds for a period of time of up to 14 d showed that the scaffolds were able to well support the growth and infiltration of cells, suggesting that the presently developed chitosan/SF/HA scaffolds have promising potential for articular cartilage repair. © 2015 IOP Publishing Ltd.