Caddisfly Silk-Polycaprolactone Foams: Physicochemical and Biological Properties of Nature-Inspired Biomaterials

The unique properties of insect silk have attracted attention for years to develop scaffolds for tissue engineering. Combining natural silks with synthetic polymers may benefit biocompatibility, mechanical strength, and elasticity. Silk-modified biomaterials are a promising choice for tissue enginee...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Mateusz M. Urbaniak, Mariusz Tszydel, Konrad Szustakiewicz, Aleksandra Szwed-Georgiou, Bartłomiej Kryszak, Marcin Włodarczyk, Sylwia Michlewska, Piotr Jóźwiak, Tomislav Ivankovic, Mikołaj K. Cybulski, Karolina Rudnicka
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: MDPI AG 2025-05-01
Series:Journal of Functional Biomaterials
Subjects:
Online Access:https://www.mdpi.com/2079-4983/16/6/199
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
_version_ 1849431679540658176
author Mateusz M. Urbaniak
Mariusz Tszydel
Konrad Szustakiewicz
Aleksandra Szwed-Georgiou
Bartłomiej Kryszak
Marcin Włodarczyk
Sylwia Michlewska
Piotr Jóźwiak
Tomislav Ivankovic
Mikołaj K. Cybulski
Karolina Rudnicka
author_facet Mateusz M. Urbaniak
Mariusz Tszydel
Konrad Szustakiewicz
Aleksandra Szwed-Georgiou
Bartłomiej Kryszak
Marcin Włodarczyk
Sylwia Michlewska
Piotr Jóźwiak
Tomislav Ivankovic
Mikołaj K. Cybulski
Karolina Rudnicka
author_sort Mateusz M. Urbaniak
collection DOAJ
description The unique properties of insect silk have attracted attention for years to develop scaffolds for tissue engineering. Combining natural silks with synthetic polymers may benefit biocompatibility, mechanical strength, and elasticity. Silk-modified biomaterials are a promising choice for tissue engineering due to their versatility, biocompatibility, and many processing methods. This study investigated the physicochemical and biological properties of biocomposites formed by combining caddisfly silk (<i>Hydropsyche angustipennis</i>) and polycaprolactone (PCL). The PCL foams modified with caddisfly silk demonstrated full cytocompatibility and enhanced fibroblast adhesion and proliferation compared to unmodified PCL. These silk-modified PCL foams also induced NF-κB signaling, which is crucial for initiating tissue regeneration. Notably, the antimicrobial properties of the silk-modified PCL foams remained consistent with those of unmodified PCL, suggesting that the addition of silk did not alter this aspect of performance. The findings suggest that caddisfly silk-modified PCL foams present a promising solution for future medical and dental applications, emphasizing the potential of alternative silk sources in tissue engineering.
format Article
id doaj-art-33074e803e1a48a8b92bc3f97d1ca483
institution Kabale University
issn 2079-4983
language English
publishDate 2025-05-01
publisher MDPI AG
record_format Article
series Journal of Functional Biomaterials
spelling doaj-art-33074e803e1a48a8b92bc3f97d1ca4832025-08-20T03:27:33ZengMDPI AGJournal of Functional Biomaterials2079-49832025-05-0116619910.3390/jfb16060199Caddisfly Silk-Polycaprolactone Foams: Physicochemical and Biological Properties of Nature-Inspired BiomaterialsMateusz M. Urbaniak0Mariusz Tszydel1Konrad Szustakiewicz2Aleksandra Szwed-Georgiou3Bartłomiej Kryszak4Marcin Włodarczyk5Sylwia Michlewska6Piotr Jóźwiak7Tomislav Ivankovic8Mikołaj K. Cybulski9Karolina Rudnicka10Department of Immunology and Infectious Biology, Faculty of Biology and Environmental Protection, University of Lodz, 12/16 Banacha, 90-237 Lodz, PolandDepartment of Ecology and Vertebrate Zoology, Faculty of Biology and Environmental Protection, University of Lodz, 12/16 Banacha, 90-237 Lodz, PolandDepartment of Polymer Engineering and Technology, Faculty of Chemistry, Wroclaw University of Science and Technology, 27 Wyb. Wyspianskiego, 50-370 Wroclaw, PolandDepartment of Immunology and Infectious Biology, Faculty of Biology and Environmental Protection, University of Lodz, 12/16 Banacha, 90-237 Lodz, PolandDepartment of Polymer Engineering and Technology, Faculty of Chemistry, Wroclaw University of Science and Technology, 27 Wyb. Wyspianskiego, 50-370 Wroclaw, PolandDepartment of Immunology and Infectious Biology, Faculty of Biology and Environmental Protection, University of Lodz, 12/16 Banacha, 90-237 Lodz, PolandLaboratory of Microscopic Imaging and Specialized Biological Techniques, Faculty of Biology and Environmental Protection, 12/16 Banacha, 90-237 Lodz, PolandDepartment of Invertebrate Zoology and Hydrobiology, Faculty of Biology and Environmental Protection, University of Lodz, 12/16 Banacha, 90-232 Lodz, PolandDivision of Microbiology, Faculty of Science, Department of Biology, University of Zagreb, Ravnice 48, 10000 Zagreb, CroatiaInstitute of Human Biology and Evolution, Faculty of Biology, Adam Mickiewicz University, 6 Uniwersytetu Poznanskiego, 61-614 Poznan, PolandDepartment of Immunology and Infectious Biology, Faculty of Biology and Environmental Protection, University of Lodz, 12/16 Banacha, 90-237 Lodz, PolandThe unique properties of insect silk have attracted attention for years to develop scaffolds for tissue engineering. Combining natural silks with synthetic polymers may benefit biocompatibility, mechanical strength, and elasticity. Silk-modified biomaterials are a promising choice for tissue engineering due to their versatility, biocompatibility, and many processing methods. This study investigated the physicochemical and biological properties of biocomposites formed by combining caddisfly silk (<i>Hydropsyche angustipennis</i>) and polycaprolactone (PCL). The PCL foams modified with caddisfly silk demonstrated full cytocompatibility and enhanced fibroblast adhesion and proliferation compared to unmodified PCL. These silk-modified PCL foams also induced NF-κB signaling, which is crucial for initiating tissue regeneration. Notably, the antimicrobial properties of the silk-modified PCL foams remained consistent with those of unmodified PCL, suggesting that the addition of silk did not alter this aspect of performance. The findings suggest that caddisfly silk-modified PCL foams present a promising solution for future medical and dental applications, emphasizing the potential of alternative silk sources in tissue engineering.https://www.mdpi.com/2079-4983/16/6/199polycaprolactonecaddisflysilktissue regenerationnature-inspired biomaterials
spellingShingle Mateusz M. Urbaniak
Mariusz Tszydel
Konrad Szustakiewicz
Aleksandra Szwed-Georgiou
Bartłomiej Kryszak
Marcin Włodarczyk
Sylwia Michlewska
Piotr Jóźwiak
Tomislav Ivankovic
Mikołaj K. Cybulski
Karolina Rudnicka
Caddisfly Silk-Polycaprolactone Foams: Physicochemical and Biological Properties of Nature-Inspired Biomaterials
Journal of Functional Biomaterials
polycaprolactone
caddisfly
silk
tissue regeneration
nature-inspired biomaterials
title Caddisfly Silk-Polycaprolactone Foams: Physicochemical and Biological Properties of Nature-Inspired Biomaterials
title_full Caddisfly Silk-Polycaprolactone Foams: Physicochemical and Biological Properties of Nature-Inspired Biomaterials
title_fullStr Caddisfly Silk-Polycaprolactone Foams: Physicochemical and Biological Properties of Nature-Inspired Biomaterials
title_full_unstemmed Caddisfly Silk-Polycaprolactone Foams: Physicochemical and Biological Properties of Nature-Inspired Biomaterials
title_short Caddisfly Silk-Polycaprolactone Foams: Physicochemical and Biological Properties of Nature-Inspired Biomaterials
title_sort caddisfly silk polycaprolactone foams physicochemical and biological properties of nature inspired biomaterials
topic polycaprolactone
caddisfly
silk
tissue regeneration
nature-inspired biomaterials
url https://www.mdpi.com/2079-4983/16/6/199
work_keys_str_mv AT mateuszmurbaniak caddisflysilkpolycaprolactonefoamsphysicochemicalandbiologicalpropertiesofnatureinspiredbiomaterials
AT mariusztszydel caddisflysilkpolycaprolactonefoamsphysicochemicalandbiologicalpropertiesofnatureinspiredbiomaterials
AT konradszustakiewicz caddisflysilkpolycaprolactonefoamsphysicochemicalandbiologicalpropertiesofnatureinspiredbiomaterials
AT aleksandraszwedgeorgiou caddisflysilkpolycaprolactonefoamsphysicochemicalandbiologicalpropertiesofnatureinspiredbiomaterials
AT bartłomiejkryszak caddisflysilkpolycaprolactonefoamsphysicochemicalandbiologicalpropertiesofnatureinspiredbiomaterials
AT marcinwłodarczyk caddisflysilkpolycaprolactonefoamsphysicochemicalandbiologicalpropertiesofnatureinspiredbiomaterials
AT sylwiamichlewska caddisflysilkpolycaprolactonefoamsphysicochemicalandbiologicalpropertiesofnatureinspiredbiomaterials
AT piotrjozwiak caddisflysilkpolycaprolactonefoamsphysicochemicalandbiologicalpropertiesofnatureinspiredbiomaterials
AT tomislavivankovic caddisflysilkpolycaprolactonefoamsphysicochemicalandbiologicalpropertiesofnatureinspiredbiomaterials
AT mikołajkcybulski caddisflysilkpolycaprolactonefoamsphysicochemicalandbiologicalpropertiesofnatureinspiredbiomaterials
AT karolinarudnicka caddisflysilkpolycaprolactonefoamsphysicochemicalandbiologicalpropertiesofnatureinspiredbiomaterials