Keratin fibrils sponges have been produced by disruption of the histological structure of the wool fibres through mild alkali treatment, followed by ultrasonication, casting and salt-leaching. The sponges showed highly interconnected porosity (93 %) and a microscopic structure which mimicks the Extracellular Bone Matrix (ECM). The alcali treatment converts intermolecular disulphide cystine bonds into shorter monosulphide lanthionine bonds resulting in an improvement of the thermal and water stability. The sponges show a volume swelling in water up to 38 %, due to the combination of porosity and high hydrophilicity of the wool fibrils. However, sponges were stable in water without structural changes and showed excellent resilience to repeated compression stresses. The sponges showed cell adhesion and proliferation for the SAOS-2 cell line, according to in vitro biocompatibility-cell viability assays, due to the excellent biocompatibility of wool keratin and the unique structure of the cortical cells network, with controlled-size macroporosity for cell guesting, in addition to structural interconnected micro-porosity suitable for nutrient feeding.
WOOL FIBRILS SPONGES: FROM TEXTILE TO BIOMEDICAL APPLICATIONS
A Patrucco;M Simionati;M Zoccola;R Mossotti;A Montarsolo;C Tonin
2015
Abstract
Keratin fibrils sponges have been produced by disruption of the histological structure of the wool fibres through mild alkali treatment, followed by ultrasonication, casting and salt-leaching. The sponges showed highly interconnected porosity (93 %) and a microscopic structure which mimicks the Extracellular Bone Matrix (ECM). The alcali treatment converts intermolecular disulphide cystine bonds into shorter monosulphide lanthionine bonds resulting in an improvement of the thermal and water stability. The sponges show a volume swelling in water up to 38 %, due to the combination of porosity and high hydrophilicity of the wool fibrils. However, sponges were stable in water without structural changes and showed excellent resilience to repeated compression stresses. The sponges showed cell adhesion and proliferation for the SAOS-2 cell line, according to in vitro biocompatibility-cell viability assays, due to the excellent biocompatibility of wool keratin and the unique structure of the cortical cells network, with controlled-size macroporosity for cell guesting, in addition to structural interconnected micro-porosity suitable for nutrient feeding.I documenti in IRIS sono protetti da copyright e tutti i diritti sono riservati, salvo diversa indicazione.
