Controllable cell adhesion, growth and orientation on layered silk protein films

Due to their mechanical stability, biocompatibility and biodegradability, silks are promising materials for various biomedical applications including tissue engineering. Since the shape and the organisation of cells in and on scaffolds both affect their function, we tested patterned silk scaffolds made of three different silk proteins concerning their influence on cell adhesion, growth and orientation. Two different cell lines, BALB/3T3 fibroblasts and C2C12 myoblasts, showed controllable cell adhesion as well as orientation dependent on the silk proteins used and patterns made. Surprisingly, the presence of the integrin binding motif RGD did not influence cell adhesion and orientation on structured silk films, although it did so significantly on flat films.