Photocrosslinkable silk fibroin-hyaluronic acid hybrid hydrogels enable chondrocyte-driven matrix deposition and mechanical maturation for cartilage tissue engineering

Photocrosslinkable silk fibroin-hyaluronic acid hybrid hydrogels enable chondrocyte-driven matrix deposition and mechanical maturation for cartilage tissue engineering

Článek WoS

Articular cartilage has limited self-repair capacity, and current treatments fail to restore its structure and function fully. 3D hydrogels that support chondrocyte viability and extracellular matrix (ECM) deposition offer a promising strategy for cartilage regeneration. Here, we developed a photo-crosslinkable silk fibroin-hyaluronic acid hydrogel for 3D encapsulation of primary human chondrocytes. Hydrogels were formulated with varying silk fibroin methacrylate (SilMA, 10-20% w/v) and hyaluronic acid methacrylate (HAMA, 1-2% w/v) concentrations and characterized for rheological, mechanical, and morphological properties. All SilMA-HAMA hydrogel formulations exhibited shear-thinning behavior and rapidly gelled (~20 s) under UV irradiation while maintaining high porosity, thereby ensuring injectability and efficient nutrient diffusion. Notably, the Young's modulus of the cell-laden scaffolds increased from ∼18 kPa to ∼1200 kPa over culture, indicating mechanical maturation driven by chondrocyte-mediated matrix deposition. This maturation was further confirmed by histological analysis and qPCR, which demonstrated enhanced ECM production and chondrogenic gene expression. Taken together, these results highlight SilMA-HAMA hydrogels as a promising biomimetic platform that couples mechanical reinforcement with biological functionality for cartilage tissue engineering.

Articular cartilage has limited self-repair capacity, and current treatments fail to restore its structure and function fully. 3D hydrogels that support chondrocyte viability and extracellular matrix (ECM) deposition offer a promising strategy for cartilage regeneration. Here, we developed a photo-crosslinkable silk fibroin-hyaluronic acid hydrogel for 3D encapsulation of primary human chondrocytes. Hydrogels were formulated with varying silk fibroin methacrylate (SilMA, 10-20% w/v) and hyaluronic acid methacrylate (HAMA, 1-2% w/v) concentrations and characterized for rheological, mechanical, and morphological properties. All SilMA-HAMA hydrogel formulations exhibited shear-thinning behavior and rapidly gelled (~20 s) under UV irradiation while maintaining high porosity, thereby ensuring injectability and efficient nutrient diffusion. Notably, the Young's modulus of the cell-laden scaffolds increased from ∼18 kPa to ∼1200 kPa over culture, indicating mechanical maturation driven by chondrocyte-mediated matrix deposition. This maturation was further confirmed by histological analysis and qPCR, which demonstrated enhanced ECM production and chondrogenic gene expression. Taken together, these results highlight SilMA-HAMA hydrogels as a promising biomimetic platform that couples mechanical reinforcement with biological functionality for cartilage tissue engineering.

Photocrosslinkable hydrogel, Silk fibroin, Hyaluronic acid, Articular cartilage regeneration, Chondrocytes, Regenerative medicine

Photocrosslinkable hydrogel, Silk fibroin, Hyaluronic acid, Articular cartilage regeneration, Chondrocytes, Regenerative medicine

Rasoulian Forough; Ghaffari-Bohlouli Pejman; Otahal Alexander; Bauer Christoph; ShahabiNejad Mohaddeseh; Klein Martin; Shavandi Armin; Heydari Abolfazl; Nehrer Stefan

01.09.2026

Elsevier

Materials today chemistry

56

September 2026

Spojené království Velké Británie a Severního Irska

103862

16

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2468519426005197?via%3Dihub