Abstract
Silk Fibroin (SF) protein, which is derived from the cocoons of the Bombyx Mori silkworms, has been used widely for biomedical applications, such as surgical sutures, owning to its high mechanical strength and biocompatibility. Recent advances in the Tissue Engineering (TE) field have acknowledged and recognized SF as a feasible candidate for tissue repair and regeneration; the regenerated form of SF protein in sponge networks has demonstrated potential for both soft and hard tissue replacements. However, adequate cell growth within the SF foams remained as a challenge to TE. Thus, in the present study, novel SF scaffolds with macro-channels were fabricated using the Additive Manufacturing (AM) or Rapid Prototyping (RP) technology. This work is, to our knowledge, the first generation of SF tissue constructs with both micro- and macro-scaled structures. The SF scaffolds were formed by casting aqueous SF solution to negative moulds made from a 3D inkjet printer. In vitro examinations of the scaffold specimens revealed that the indirect approach does not induce toxicity and were able to maintain the intrinsic properties of the naturally-derived biomaterial.