Biomineralization of Engineered Spider Silk Protein-Based Composite Materials for Bone Tissue Engineering

Abstract

Materials based on biodegradable polyesters, such as poly(butylene terephthalate) (PBT) or poly(butylene terephthalate-co-poly(alkylene glycol) terephthalate) (PBTAT), have potential application as pro-regenerative scaffolds for bone tissue engineering. Herein, the preparation of films composed of PBT or PBTAT and an engineered spider silk protein, (eADF4(C16)), that displays multiple carboxylic acid moieties capable of binding calcium ions and facilitating their biomineralization with calcium carbonate or calcium phosphate is reported. Human mesenchymal stem cells cultured on films mineralized with calcium phosphate show enhanced levels of alkaline phosphatase activity suggesting that such composites have potential use for bone tissue engineering.

Delivery of Chemotherapeutics Using Spheres Made of Bioengineered Spider Silks Derived From MaSp1 and MaSp2 Proteins

“…The enhanced drug loading and better release kinetics may also be achieved by functionalization of silk by blending with other compounds, chemical conjugation and genetic engineering. These modifications may render a control over desired properties for different purposes, as previously [32][33][34][35]. However, after such modifications, the silk-assembly property and biocompatibility may be an issue of concern.…”

Spider Silk for Tissue Engineering Applications

“…Materials made of recombinant spider silk proteins in the work presented by Hardy et al [72] and Yang et al [73] could be biomineralized, and those materials induced an enhanced level of alkaline phosphatase activity of human mesenchymal stem cells which were cultured on the substrates. As the employed spider silk contained multiple carboxylic acid moieties, the calcium ions were able to bind and facilitate the mineralization.…”

Silk-Based Materials for Hard Tissue Engineering

“…Besides composite materials, biomineralization of protein precursor materials can be triggered in vitro upon immersion in mineralization agents forming calcium phosphate species. These can for example be single aqueous salt solutions, which are subsequently applied to the materials [ 58 , 59 , 60 ]. More complex mineralization is provided by Simulated Body Fluid, a model solution at pH 7.4, which was designed to simulate mineralization processes found during bone formation.…”