Photocross-linked silk fibroin/hyaluronic acid hydrogel loaded with hDPSC for pulp regeneration

The construction of suitable biomaterials for pulp regeneration has always been a major challenge in the field of stomatology. Considering the complex and irregular anatomy of the root canal system, injectable hydrogels have received extensive attention as cell carriers in dental pulp regeneration. Here, we developed an injectable photocrosslinked methacrylylated silk fibroin (RSFMA)/methacrylylated hyaluronic acid (MeHA) composite hydrogel and characterized its physicochemical properties. The biocompatibility of encapsulated human dental pulp stem cells (hDPSCs) was subsequently investigated. With the addition of RSFMA, the pore size of the scaffolds became more regular with negligible change in porosity and exhibited excellent mechanical properties. Furthermore, the low concentration of RSFMA hydrogel in the composite hydrogel had higher cross-linking efficiency. In contrast to MeHA hydrogels, hDPSCs were encapsulated in hydrogels either in the absence or presence of high concentrations of RSFMA. The results indicated that cells in low-concentration RSFMA composite gel presented better growth ability, proliferation ability and osteogenic differentiation ability. This injectable photocrosslinked silk fibroin/hyaluronic acid hydrogel shows great potential in the field of dental pulp tissue engineering.