Use of Bombyx mori silk fibroin as a substratum for cultivation of animal cells

The growth of animal cells on silk fibroin-coated plates was examined. The anchorage-dependent cells showed almost the same growth on both fibroin- and collagen-coated plates, and it was 30-50% higher than that on polystyrene plates coated with hydrophilic groups. On the other hand, the growth of the anchorage-independent hybridomas on the three different plates did not show a significant difference. The cells grown on the respective plates produced their products with the same efficiency despite the difference in the chemical properties of the plates. In this paper, it is demonstrated that silk fibroin can be used as the substratum for the culture of animal cells in place of collagen. (C) 1998 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.