J Korean Dysphagia Soc.  2015 Jan;5(1):24-29.

Artificial Esophagus Reconstruction Using Silk Fibroin Scaffold: Preliminary Study

• Chung EJ
• Park CH

Abstract

Objective
The purpose of this study was to determine the feasibility of an artificial esophagus using a silk fibroin (SF) scaffold. Method: The artificial esophagus was a three-layered, hybrid-type prosthesis composed of an outer and inner layer of poly(ε-caprolactone) (PCL) with a middle layer of SF. After depositing the inner layer of the PCL scaffold by electrospinning, the lyophilized middle SF layer was created. The outer layer of PCL was produced following the same procedure used to make the inner PCL layer. Result: In the cross-sectional image of the PCL-SF scaffold, we can clearly observe the nanofiber structure and the porous structure of the middle silk layer. The average stress values for the PCL-silk scaffold were 2.3460.12 MPa (dry) and 2.2660.23 MPa (wet). The CCK-8 assay results showed that prepared scaffolds modified with SF are generously nontoxic to the cells and that the presence of silk favored the growth of fibroblasts; therefore, this material is compatible with biomedical applications.
Conclusion
Our study proposes a more practical experimental model for studying a three-layered PCL-SF scaffold in the esophagus.

Keyword

Esophagus; Tissue engineering; Poly(E-caprolactone); Silk; Hybrid scaffold