Roles of Astragalus Polysaccharides in MXene-Integrated Silk Fibroin Porous Scaffolds for Tissue Engineering
摘要
In this study, we incorporated Astragalus polysaccharide (APS) and MXene (Ti3C2Tx) into regenerated silk fibroin (RSF) to fabricate three-dimensional porous scaffolds via freeze-drying. By systematically varying the APS content while keeping the MXene content constant, we achieved enhanced mechanical properties and multifunctionality. The swelling ratio, hydrophilicity, and protein adsorption of the composite scaffolds increased with APS content, while porosity decreased. APS incorporation promoted β-sheet formation, and MXene imparted photothermal properties, enabling a temperature rise to 47 °C under 640–660 nm irradiation for 12 min. The composite scaffolds also showed high antioxidant activity (93% DPPH scavenging) and excellent hemocompatibility (< 2% hemolysis). Compared to the RSF scaffold, the composite scaffolds exhibited a 3.36-fold increase in compressive modulus (6.93 MPa) and a 1.96-fold increase in compressive strength (4.04 MPa) at an APS/RSF mass ratio of 0.2:1. In vitro studies revealed that optimal APS concentrations significantly enhanced biocompatibility by promoting the proliferation and migration of MC3T3-E1 and endothelial cells. For MC3T3-E1 cells, the optimal APS/RSF mass ratio was 0.16:1, while for endothelial cells, it was 0.2:1. Overall, this study demonstrates the potential of APS and MXene incorporation into RSF scaffolds for enhanced tissue engineering applications.