Biocompatible and Printable Ionotronic Sensing Materials Based on Silk Fibroin and Soluble Plant-Derived Polyphenols

Year: 2022

Authors: Chiesa I., De Maria C., Tonin R., Ripanti F., Ceccarini MR., Salvatori C., Mussolin L., Paciaroni A., Petrillo C., Cesprini E., Feo F., Calamai M., Morrone A., Morabito A., Beccari T., Valentini L.

Autors Affiliation: Univ Pisa, Dept Ingn Informaz, I-56122 Pisa, Italy; Univ Pisa, Res Ctr E Piaggio, I-56122 Pisa, Italy; Meyer Childrens Hosp, Neurosci Dept, Paediat Neurol Unit &Labs, Mol & Cell Biol Lab, I-50121 Florence, Italy; Univ Perugia, Dept Phys & Geol, I-06123 Perugia, Italy; Univ Perugia, Dept Pharmaceut Sci, I-06123 Perugia, Italy; REA Sci Pk, I-34149 Trieste, Italy; Univ Padua, Land Environm Agr & Forestry Dept, I-35020 Legnaro, Italy; Univ Florence, European Lab Nonlinear Spect LENS, I-50019 Sesto Fiorentino, Italy; Natl Res Council CNR INO, Natl Inst Opt, I-50019 Sesto Fiorentino, Italy; Univ Firenze, Dipartimento Neurosci Psicol Area Farmaco & Salute, I-50121 Florence, Italy; Meyer Childrens Hosp, Dept Pediat Surg, I-50139 Florence, Italy; Univ Perugia, Civil & Environm Engn Dept, I-05100 Terni, Italy; Italian Consortium Sci & Technol Mat INSTM, I-50121 Florence, Italy.

Abstract: The emergence of ionotronic materials has been recently exploited for interfacing electronics and biological tissues, improving sensing with the surrounding environment. In this paper, we investigated the synergistic effect of regenerated silk fibroin (RS) with a plant-derived polyphenol (i.e., chestnut tannin on ionic conductivity and how water molecules play critical roles in regulating ion mobility in these materials. In particular, we observed that adding tannin to RS increases the ionic conductivity, and this phenomenon is accentuated by increasing the hydration. We also demonstrated how silk-based hybrids could be used as building materials for scaffolds where human fibroblast and neural progenitor cells can highly proliferate. Finally, after proving their biocompatibility, RS hybrids demonstrate excellent three-dimensional (3D) printability via extrusion-based 3D printing to fabricate a soft sensor that can detect charged objects by sensing the electric fields that originate from them. These findings pave the way for a viable option for cell culture and novel sensors, with the potential base for tissue engineering and health monitoring.

Journal/Review: ACS OMEGA

More Information: L.V., I.C., and C.D.M. received funding from the Italian Ministry of Education, University and Research (MIUR) under the PRIN Project Development and promotion of the Levulinic acid and Carboxylate platforms by the formulation of novel and advanced PHA-based biomaterials and their exploitation for 3D printed green-electronics applications grant 2017FWC3WC. M.C. acknowledges funding from Laserlab-Europe, H2020 EC-GA 654148. Fondazione Cassa di Risparmio di Terni partially funded this work through the research grant 2020.
KeyWords: X-ray; Acid; Temperature; Matrigel; Binding
DOI: 10.1021/acsomega.2c04729

Citations: 4
data from “WEB OF SCIENCE” (of Thomson Reuters) are update at: 2024-11-17
References taken from IsiWeb of Knowledge: (subscribers only)
Connecting to view paper tab on IsiWeb: Click here
Connecting to view citations from IsiWeb: Click here