Intermolecular interactions between B. mori silk fibroin and poly(L-lactic acid) in electrospun composite nanofibrous scaffolds

In this study, composite nanofibrous scaffolds were obtained by electrospinning a trifluoroacetic acid solution containing B. mori silk fibroin (SF) and poly(L-lactic acid) (PLLA) in a 1:1 weight ratio. SF, PLLA and SF/PLLA nanofibres were prepared with average diameter sizes of 360 ± 90 nm, 470 ± 240 nm and 580 ± 220 nm, respectively, as assessed by SEM analysis. Vibrational and thermal analyses showed that upon blending in the SF/PLLA nanofibres, the crystallisation of PLLA was hindered by the presence of SF, which crystallized preferentially and underwent conformational changes that did not significantly change its prevailing β-sheet structure. The two components were thermodynamically compatible and the intermolecular interactions between them were revealed for the first time. Human keratinocytes were cultured on nanofibres and their viability and proliferation were determined. Preliminary in vitro tests showed that the incorporation of SF into the PLLA component enhanced cell adhesion and proliferation with respect to the unfunctionalised material. SF has been successfully used to modify the biomaterial properties and confirmed to be an efficient bioactive protein to mediate cell-biomaterial interaction.