Kartogenin-loaded silk fibroin-chondroitin sulfate hybrid hydrogel with tailored -sheet content: control release studies and biological activity

Silk fibroin (SF)-chondroitin sulfate (CS)-hybrid hydrogels (HHGs) containing kartogenin (KGN) were synthesized by the induction of di-tyrosine bonds, using enzymatic crosslinking in SF/CS blend solution. Then, physical crosslinking was performed to optimize the HHG properties. The results showed that the increasing of the beta-sheet content as side effect of physical crosslinking from 10% to 40% affects KGN accumulative release percentage almost three times. Biological investigations using C28/I2 human chondrocyte cell line showed that the presence of KGN, CS, and optimized beta-sheets content improved cell supporting behavior of HHG. Finally, KGN loaded HHG might be a promising candidate for cartilage repair. [Graphics] .