Silkothane®

Silkothane® can be processed by electrospinning in the form of nano-fibrous meshes, morphologically and mechanically resembling the native extracellular matrix of biological tissues. Thus, Silkothane® is particularly suitable to manufacture scaffolds for in situ tissue engineering. With time, host cells colonize the nano-fibrous Silkothane® mesh, adhere to silk fibroin and remodel its fibers while integrating with the thin polyurethane mesh.

Silkothane® meshes can be electrospun in different formulations, with varying weight ratios of silk fibroin and polyurethane, allowing for adjustment of the scaffold’s mechanical properties. Tensile tests demonstrated that the Young’s modulus of electrospun Silkothane® meshes ranges between 4MPa (formulation with 75% polyurethane) to 23 MPa (formulation with 75% silk fibroin)[1].