Production of three-dimensional silk fibroin nanofiber non-woven fabric by wet electrospinning

Abstract

Three-dimensional (3D) silk fibroin (SF) nanofiber non-woven fabric was fabricated by wet electrospinning (WES) using SF aqueous spinning solution and a liquid bath as a collector. Citric acid buffered solution at pH 3.8 supplemented with t-butyl alcohol (t-BuOH) was used as the liquid bath. The t-BuOH concentration influenced the apparent pore size and porosity of the WES non-woven fabric. The maximum pore size was formed at 30% of t-BuOH. The as-spun WES non-woven fabric structure had a crystallized form. Cell adhesion on the WES non-woven fabric was lower than that produced on the non-woven fabric by traditional dry electrospinning (DES), but no difference was observed in cell proliferation rates between WES and DES non-woven fabrics. Cells adhered and proliferated on both the surface and the inner spaces of WES non-woven fabric, although cells adhered only on the surface of DES non-woven fabric consisting of high fiber density. The WES non-woven fabric is anticipated for use as a cell scaffold mimicking an extracellular matrix in tissue.