@article {44380,
	title = {Silk fibroin micro-particle scaffolds with superior compression modulus and slow bioresorption for effective bone regeneration},
	journal = {Scientific Reports},
	volume = {8},
	year = {2018},
	month = {MAY},
	pages = {Article Number: 7235},
	abstract = {Silk fibroin (SF), a natural polymer produced by Bombyx mori silkworms, has been extensively explored to prepare porous scaffolds for tissue engineering applications. Here, we demonstrate, a scaffold made of SF, which exhibits compression modulus comparable to natural cancellous bone while retaining the appropriate porosities and interconnected pore architecture. The scaffolds also exhibit high resistance to in-vitro proteolytic degradation due to the dominant beta sheet conformation of the SF protein. Additionally, the scaffolds are prepared using a simple method of microparticle aggregation. We also demonstrate, for the first time, a method to prepare SF micro-particles using a Hexafluoroisopropanol-Methanol solvent-coagulant combination. SF microparticles obtained using this method are monodisperse, spherical, non-porous and extremely crystalline. These micro-particles have been further aggregated together to form a 3D scaffold. The aggregation is achieved by random packing of these microparticles and fusing them together using a dilute SF solution. Preliminary in-vitro cell culture and in-vivo implantation studies demonstrate that the scaffolds are biocompatible and they exhibit the appropriate early markers, making them promising candidates for bone regeneration.},
	doi = {10.1038/s41598-018-25643-x},
	author = {Nisal, Anuya and Sayyad, Raeesa and Dhavale, Prachi and Khude, Bhakti and Deshpande, Rucha and Mapare, Vidhyashri and Shukla, Swati and Venugopalan, Premnath}
}
