Silk fibroin for tissue engineering applications: how processing can affect the biomedical behavior

Chemistry, structure and mechanical properties of scaffolds for tissue engineering should be designed so to act as templates for cells adhesion, activation and extra-cellular matrix production, in order to lead to the regeneration of the damaged tissues. Taking as a model the natural ECMs, biopolymers matrices, and in particular proteins, are attracting the interest of many researchers. Proteins constitute the basic building blocks of the biological systems, and possess a hierarchical structure with multi-functional properties able to interact with the chemical-physical environment. Among proteins, silk-based materials are increasingly investigated for the fabrication of scaffolds suitable for the regeneration of various mammalian tissues such as bone, cartilage, tendon and skin (1, 2). Recently, two different active sequences, VITTDSDGNE and NINDFDED, recognized by integrin promoting fibroblast growth, were identified in the N-terminal region of heavy chain (3) of fibroin derived from the Bombyx mori silkworm silk.