A novel nanocomposite particle of hydroxyapatite and silk fibroin: Biomimetic synthesis and its biocompatibility

Abstract

A novel bone-like biomaterial of hydroxyapatite (HAP) and silk fibroin (SF) composite was developed by biomimetic synthesis. The composite was precipitated from drops of Ca(OH)2 suspension and H3PO4 solution with SF. With this method, the HAP nanocrystals were obtained by self-assembling on a SF surface whose c-axis was aligned with the long-axis direction of SF in microstructures; this shares the same misconstrues of collagen and HAP with that in the natural bone. The HAP/SF composite then demonstrated that it could promote osteoblast proliferation in vitro and new bone formation in vivo. The novel biomaterial is a promising material for bone replacement and regeneration. Copyright © 2010 Lin Niu et al.