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Osteo-conductive hydrogel scaffolds of poly(vinylalcohol) with silk fibroin particles for bone augmentation: Structural formation and in vitro testing

Bone augmentation is an effective approach to treat patients who have bone loss at the maxillofacial area. In this research, osteo-conductive hydrogel scaffolds of poly(vinylalcohol) (PVA) with silk fibroin particles (SFP) were fabricated. The SFP were formed by dropping a solution of silk fibroin into acetone at different volume ratios (v/v) of silk to acetone: 1:3 (SFP-3), 1:6 (SFP-6), 1:12 (SFP-12), and 1:24 (SFP-24). The various SFP solutions were mixed with a PVA solution before fabrication into hydrogels by freeze-thawing. Afterwards, the hydrogels were freeze-dried to fabricate the scaffolds. The particle size and charge, molecular organization, and morphology of the SFP were characterized and observed with dynamic light scattering, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, differential scanning calorimetry, and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The morphologies of the hydrogel scaffolds were observed with SEM. Swelling percentage was used to assess the swelling behavior of the hydrogel scaffolds. The mechanical properties were also tested. The scaffolds were cultured with osteoblast cells to test the biological performance, cell viability and performance, alkaline phosphatase activity, calcium deposition, and total protein. The SFP-24 was the smallest in particle size. PVA hydrogel scaffolds with SFP-24 demonstrated low particle aggregation, good particle distribution within the scaffold, and a lower swelling percentage. PVA hydrogel scaffolds with SFP had higher mechanical stability than scaffolds without the SFP. Furthermore, the PVA hydrogel scaffold with SFP-24 had better biological performance. Finally, the results demonstrated that PVA hydrogel scaffolds with SFP-24 showed good osteo-conductive performance which is promising for bone augmentation.