Studies of Silk Fibroin/Poly(Lactic-Co-Glycolic Acid) Scaffold, Prepared by Thermally Induced Phase Separation, as a Possible Wound Dressing

Silk fibroin (SF), with the excellent biocompatibility, was combined with poly(lactic-co-glycolic acid) (PLGA) to produce scaffolds with the ability to mimic the extracellular matrix (ECM). In this work, scaffolds with different weight ratios of SF/PLGA (8/8, 5/8, 2/8) were prepared by thermally induced phase separation (TIPS), and their characteristics as wound dressings were investigated. The results of water vapor permeability, water uptake rate and water loss rate showed that the optimal weight ratio of SF/PLGA was 8/8, which could absorb wound skin exudates to prevent infection and maintain wound humidity. The water vapor transmission rate was 5591.88 +/- 56.70 g/m(2)/day, and the maximum equilibrium water uptake rate was 72.2%. Furthermore, the curcumin release results showed that the scaffolds had sustained release properties, which indicated that the SF/PLGA scaffold prepared by TIPS could be used in wound dressing with additional functionalities.