Abstract

The recombinant miniature spider silk protein 4RepCT was used to fabricate film foam fiber and mesh matrices of different dimensionality microstructure and nanotopography These matrices were evaluated regarding their suitability for cell culturing Human primary fibroblasts attached to and grew well on all matrix types also in the absence of serum proteins or other animal-derived additives The highest cell counts were obtained on matrices combining film and fiber/mesh The cells showed an elongated shape that followed the structure of the matrices and exhibited prominent actin filaments Moreover the fibroblasts produced secreted and deposited collagen type I onto the matrices These results together with findings of the matrices being mechanically robust hold promise not only for in vitro cell culturing but also for tissue engineering applications (C) 2010 Elsevier Ltd All rights reserved

Keywords

Biomaterial; Cytocompatibility; Collagen production; Fibroblasts; Serum free; Tissue engineering

Published in

Biomaterials
2010, volume: 31, number: 36, pages: 9575-9585
Publisher: ELSEVIER SCI LTD

Authors' information