Reproducibility and Compressive Strength Enhancement of Printed Silk Fibroin–Polyethylene Glycidyl Methacrylate Composite Hydrogels Via Cellulose Nanofibers

Silk fibroin (SF) is a natural polymer with excellent biocompatibility and mechanical properties and moderate human body degradability, making SF an interesting candidate for regenerative medicine. Composite materials of SF and polyethylene glycidyl methacrylate (PEGDMA), a biocompatible polymer, attract attention as scaffold materials for regenerative medicine. To the authors’ knowledge, SF–PEGDMA composite hydrogels have thus far not been manufactured using optical fabrication methods, and the change in their compressive properties during their degradation has not been studied. In addition, cellulose nanofiber (CNF), a plant-derived nanomaterial with excellent mechanical properties and biocompatibility, was added to the SF–PEGDMA hydrogels to enhance their mechanical properties. SF–PEGDMA composite hydrogels were three-dimensionally printed using digital light processing. The compressive strength of the obtained hydrogels stored in pure water or phosphate buffer solution temporarily increased and decreased after 4 days. However, after 7 days, the strength decreased to a level similar to that of the specimens which did not contain CNF. In the formability tests, the reproducibility of the model changed with the intensity of the light and the CNF concentration.