LAUSR

Tough porous cryogels with angiogenesis and osteogenesis features remain a design challenge for utility in bone regeneration. Here, building off of our recent efforts to generate tough silk nanofiber derived cryogels with osteogenic activity, deferoxamine (DFO) was loaded in silk nanofiber derived cryogels to introduce angiogenic capacity. Both the mechanical cues (stiffness) and the sustained release of DFO from the gels were controlled by tuning the concentration of silk nanofibers in the system, achieving a modulus above 400 kPa and slow release of the DFO over 60 days. The modulus of the cryogels and the released DFO induced osteogenic and angiogenic activity, which facilitated bone regeneration in vivo in femur defects in rat, resulting in faster regeneration of vascularized bone tissue. The tunable physical and chemical cues derived from these nanofibrous-microporous structures support the potential for silk cryogels in bone tissue regeneration. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.