Electrospinning Aligned\nSF/Magnetic Nanoparticles-Blend\nNanofiber Scaffolds for Inducing Skeletal Myoblast Alignment and Differentiation

In the realm of skeletal muscle tissue\nengineering, anisotropic\nmaterials that emulate natural tissues show substantial promise. Electrospun\nscaffolds, mimicking the fibrillar structure of the extracellular\nmatrix, are commonly employed but often fall short in achieving optimal\nalignment and mechanical strength. Silk fibroin has emerged as a versatile\nmaterial in tissue engineering, valued for its biocompatibility, mechanical\nrobustness, and biodegradability. However, conventional electrospinning\nmethods of SF result in randomly oriented fibers, limiting their efficacy.\nIn this work, we developed a straightforward method to fabricate directional\ntissue scaffolds using silk fibroin. By integrating a magnetic field\ncollecting device and incorporating Fe<sub>3</sub>O<sub>4</sub> nanoparticles\ninto the spinning solution, we successfully produced well-aligned\nsilk nanofiber scaffolds. These aligned fibers not only improved scaffold\norientation and mechanical properties but also exhibited magnetic\nresponsiveness. The aligned SF scaffolds effectively guided the adhesion,\nproliferation, and differentiation of mesenchymal stem cells along\nthe fiber direction. Cultured on these scaffolds, myoblast C2C12 cells\ndemonstrated oriented growth, highlighting the potential of aligned\nSF fibers in advancing skeletal muscle engineering for biomedical\napplications.