Electrospun wool keratin scaffolds combined with gold nanoparticles: a new strategy for bone regeneration

A current challenge in the regenerative medicine field is the discovery of new strategies for bone regeneration. Bone possesses a complex anatomical structure that makes it difficult to replicate finely. The present work, exploiting tissue engineering, provides an alternative to conventional methods (bone grafts) to cure bone defects, focused on producing electrospun keratin nanofiber-based scaffolds. Wool keratin is an attractive biomaterial to stimulate bone regeneration due to its biocompatibility, biodegradability and capacity to improve cell adhesion (1). Also, the addition of gold nanoparticles (GNPs) can enhance the scaffolds’ antibacterial performance (2).