Fabrication And Characterization Of Hepat Ocyte Targeted Chitosan/Silk Fibroin Composite Scaffolds

Tissue engineering scaffold should mimic the chemical structure and composition of natural extracellular matrix(ECM),therefore provide an ideal environment for cell growth.The natural extracellular matrix is consisted of filamentous collagen and mucopolysaccharide,of which the structure can be imitated by the composite nanofibrous scaffold made of polysaccharide and natural protein.Chitosan and silk fibroin are used as biomedical materials with outstanding biocompatibility widely,which are regarded as the preferred materials for tissue engineering scaffolds.Studies show that liver cancer cells(HepG2)with glycyrrhetinic acid receptor and sialoglycoprotein receptor on the surface,which can specifically recognize and interact with glycyrrhetinic acid and galactose.Hepatocellular carcinoma cells show the adhesion and proliferation behavior when cultured in galactose-containing material.Chitosan grafted with glycyrrhetinic acid and galactose has been reported due to its hepatocyte specificity.The galactonic-chitosan/glycyrrhiznic acid modified chitosan-silk fibroin composite nanofibrous scaffolds were constructed by green electrospinning technology for the first time,and their characterizations,such as effects and compatibility,were measured.The results show that: 1)The diameter of modified chitosan nanofibers is about 400-600 nm,the crystallinity of materials increases due to the addition of modified chitosan;2)The addition of modified chitosan significantly affected the biocompatibility of silk fibroin nano-scaffolds;3)In vitro cell compatibility experiments showed that the prepared nanofibrous scaffolds could significantly promote the thermal stability of the materials,and increase the proliferation of HepG2,and cells adhered and spread well on the stent.It is noteworthy that hepatocytes proliferate more quickly on the nanofibrous scaffolds of galactonic-chitosan,suggesting that this stent is advantageous in liver regeneration potentially.This study has provided a useful tool for the green construction of liver tissue engineering scaffolds,and laid a solid foundation for the follow-up study of these scaffolds.