A new cancellous bone material of silk fibroin/cellulose dual network composite aerogel reinforced by nano-hydroxyapatite filler

Composites materials comprised of biopolymeric aerogel matrices and inorganic nano-hydroxyapatite (n-HA) fillers have received considerable attention in bone engineering. Although with significant progress in aerogel-based biomaterials, the brittleness and low strengths limit the application. The improvements in toughness and mechanical strength of aerogel-based biomaterials are in great need. In this work, an alkali urea system was used to dissolve, regenerate and gelate cellulose and silk fibroin (SF) to prepare composite aerosol. A dual network structure was shaped in the composite aerosol materials interlaced by sheet-like SF and reticular cellulose wrapping n-HA on the surface. Through uniaxial compression, the density of the composite aerogel material was close to the one of natural bone, and mechanical strength and toughness were high. Our work indicates that the composite aerogel has the same mechanical strength range as cancellous bone when the ratio of cellulose, n-HA and SF being 8:1:1. In vitro cell culture showed HEK-293T cells cultured on composite aerogels had high ability of adhesion, proliferation and differentiation. Totally, the presented biodegradable composite aerogel has application potential in bone tissue engineering.