Preparation and cytocompatibility of silk fibroin / chitosan scaffolds

One challenge in soft tissue engineering is to find an applicable scaffold, not only having suitable mechanical properties, porous structures, and biodegradable properties, but also being abundant in active groups and having good biocompatibility. In this study, a three-dimensional silk fibroin/chitosan (SFCS) scaffold was successfully prepared with interconnected porous structure, excellent hydrophilicity, and proper mechanical properties. Compared with polylactic glycolic acid (PLGA) scaffold, the SFCS scaffold further facilitated the growth of HepG2 cells (human hepatoma cell line). Keeping the good cytocompatibility and combining the advantages of both fibroin and chitosan, the SFCS scaffold should be a prominent candidate for soft tissue engineering, for example, liver.