Avidin Adsorption to Silk Fibroin Films as a Facile Method for Functionalization

Silk fibroin biomaterials are highly versatile in terms of materials formation and functionalization, with applications in tissue engineering and drug delivery, but necessitate modifications for optimized biological activity. Herein, a facile, avidin-based technique is developed to noncovalently functionalize silk materials with bioactive molecules. The ability to adsorb avidin to silk surfaces and subsequently couple biotinylated macromolecules via avidin–biotin interaction is described. This method better preserved functionality than standard covalent coupling techniques using carbodiimide cross-linking chemistry. The controlled release of avidin from the silk surface was demonstrated by altering the adsorption parameters. Application of this technique to culturing human foreskin fibroblasts (hFFs) and human mesenchymal stem cells (hMSCs) on arginine-glycine-aspartic-acid-modified (RGD-modified) silk showed increased cell growth over a seven-day period. This technique provides a facile method for the versatile functionalization of silk materials for biomedical applications including tissue engineering, drug delivery, and biological sensing.