Photocurable Hydrogels Containing Spidroin or Fibroin

Photocurable biocompatible hydrogels were fabricated from methacrylated gelatin and silk proteins (a recombinant analogue of spidroin from Nephila clavipes spider web and fibroin from the cocoons of the silkworm Bombyx mori). These polymers are widely applicable in tissue engineering due to their biocompatibility and biodegradability. Hydrogels were fabricated using two different methods that allowed to obtain either the macroscopic scaffolds or microstructures with a defined shape. Three-dimensional hydrogel samples were prepared via monomers solution photopolymerization for 10 min. As a result, the disk-shaped samples of hydrogels approximately 13 mm in diameter were fabricated. Their porous structure was confirmed by scanning electron microscopy. Microstructures were formed on coverslips using an Eclipse Ti-E microscope equipped with an A1 confocal module (Nikon, Japan) and 405 nm laser. This approach allows to control the topographic features of the obtained substrates, and it is viable for creating the micropattern surfaces to reveal for studying the interaction of cells with a substrate.