Effect of Silk Fibroin Concentration on the Properties of Polyethylene Glycol Dimethacrylates for Digital Light Processing Printing

• Published in: Advanced engineering materials Vol. 23; no. 9
• Main Authors: Egawa, Satoshi, Kurita, Hiroki, Kanno, Teruyoshi, Narita, Fumio
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: 01-09-2021
• Subjects: 3D printing; biocomposites; mechanical properties; resins
• ISSN: 1438-1656; 1527-2648
• DOI: 10.1002/adem.202100487

Attempts are made to use silk fibroin (SF), which is a protein produced by the silkworm, as a scaffold material in the field of regenerative medicine due to its high biocompatibility. Herein, the concentration of SF is varied and mixed with the light‐curing resin polyethylene glycol dimethacrylate (PEGDMA) to create a bioink, and the hydrogel is printed by digital light processing (DLP) 3D printing. Then, to investigate the properties of the printed hydrogel, scanning electron microscope (SEM) observation, swelling behavior measurement, and compression testing are conducted. The properties of hydrogels depend on the concentration of SF, and this result indicates that it is possible to create a scaffold with properties suitable for some tissue by controlling the amount of SF.
The concentration of silk fibroin (SF) is varied and mixed with the light‐curing resin polyethylene glycol methacrylate (PEGDMA) to create a bioink, and the hydrogel is printed by 3D printing. The properties that depend on the concentration of SF indicate that it is possible to create a scaffold with properties suitable for some tissue by controlling the amount of SF.