A biomimetic well-aligned silk fibroin/calcium phosphate composite by electrospinning and in-situ mineralization

In this study, well-aligned silk fibroin nanofibers are prepared to simulate anisotropic bone extracellular matrix via an optimized process of the electrospinning technique. Then calcium phosphate is introduced along the fibers by in-situ mineralization to prepare a biomimetic composite. After hot pressing, the silk fibroin-based calcium phosphate composite holds not only bone-like composition and structure but also excellent mechanical performance. The elastic modulus and bending strength of silk fibroin scaffold is close to that of the subchondral bone. This work provides a general routine for preparing the bone-like biomedical materials.