Keratin-containing scaffolds for tissue engineering applications: a review

Abstract

In tissue engineering and regenerative medicine applications, the utilization of bioactive materials has become a routine tool. The goal of tissue engineering is to create new organs and tissues by combining cell biology, materials science, reactor engineering, and clinical research. As part of the growth pattern for primary cells in an organ, backing material is frequently used as a supporting material. A porous three-dimensional (3D) scaffold can provide cells with optimal conditions for proliferating, migrating, differentiating, and functioning as a framework. Optimizing the scaffolds’ structure and altering their surface may improve cell adhesion and proliferation. A keratin-based biomaterials platform has been developed as a result of discoveries made over the past century in the extraction, purification, and characterization of keratin proteins from hair and wool fibers. Biocompatibility, biodegradability, intrinsic biological activity, and cellular binding motifs make keratin an attractive biomaterial for tissue engineering scaffolds. Scaffolds for tissue engineering have been developed from extracted keratin proteins because of their capacity to self-assemble and polymerize into intricate 3D structures. In this review article, applications of keratin-based scaffolds in different tissues including bone, skin, nerve, and vascular are explained based on common methods of fabrication such as electrospinning, freeze-drying process, and sponge replication method.

Keywords:

• Composite
• keratin
• scaffold
• tissue engineering

Authors’ contributions

Sanaz Soleymani Eil Bakhtiari: visualization, resources, writing, review and editing, validation. Saeed Karbasi: conceptualization, supervision, project administration, writing-review & editing.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Data availability

Data will be made available on request.

Additional information

Funding

The author(s) reported there is no funding associated with the work featured in this article.