Electrospun silk fibroin/SIS-dECM hierarchical scaffolds for cell growth

Biomaterials play an important role in biomedical applications serving as scaffolds in tissue engineering and substrates for cell growth by providing structural supports. Signaling cues for cellular events can be also presented, including cell viability, adhesion, spreading, and function developments. In this study, we fabricated a hierarchical nanofibrous scaffold through electrospinning silk fibroin (SF) and decellularized extracellular matrix of the small intestine submucosa (SIS-dECM). The addition of SIS-dECM improved the hydrophilic features of the resultant composite nanofibrous substrates as compared to SF nanofibrous substrates. The biocompatibility of the nanofibrous scaffolds was thoroughly investigated by culturing meningeal fibroblasts on SF and SF/SIS-dECM nanofibrous substrates. Cell viability, proliferation, focal adhesion, and quantitative measurements of cell adhesion-related gene expression levels revealed that the addition of SIS-dECM favored the adhesion and spreading of fibroblast cells. Therefore, the SF/SIS-dECM nanofibers provided a suitable substrate for cell growth and the present study suggested that the nanofibrous substrates hold high potential for bioapplications.