Development Of Calcium Phosphate Mineralized Silk For Potential Use In Guided Bone Regeneration: Preparation And Properties

Silk has been used in biomedical applications for centuries. The potential of silk for application in tissue engineering is currently being explored. The purpose of this study was to develop new method of mineralizing silk with carbonate apatite and determine cell response. The cocoons were placed in sodium bicarbonate solution and heat treated. The treated silk fibers were mineralized with carbonate apatite (CHA) using precipitation and new microwave methods. The mineralized and non-mineralized silks were characterized using SEM, EDS, XRD, FT-IR, and TGA. Cell response to mineralized silk and non-mineralized silk was determined using human osteoblast like cells (MG-63). The microwave method was more efficient than the precipitation method in terms of the amount of minerals incorporated with the silk and time required for mineralization. EDS, FT-IR and XRD identified CHA in the mineralized silk. In terms of cell response, greater production of type I collagen was observed with CHA mineralized silk compared with non-mineralized silk.