Abstract: Significant progress has been made on understanding the critical role of organic components in directing the collagen mineralization. We hypothesize that the inorganic trace elements might also play important role in the mineralization of collagenous matrix. To this aim, we systematically compared the in-vitro biomineralization behaviors of gelatin, gelatin-HA and gelatin-SiHA electrospun membranes. The results indicated that the presence of Si ions played a striking influence on the nucleation behaviors and mineralized structures. The gelatin-SiHA samples demonstrated more homogeneous nucleation within the gelatin fiber and growth along the fiber direction, in comparison with the heterogeneous nucleation and growth of spherulitic clusters on top of the nanofiber surface, i.e. extrafibrillar mineralization. The likely shift of the nucleation mode to the intrafibrillar mineralization in the presence of Si ions led to good alignment of apatite c -axis with the long axis of the nanofi ber, resulting in a mineralization process and microstructure that were closer to those in natural bone. Cellular response analysis indicated that Si incorporation improved the MSC attachment and cytoskeleton organization. Such findings might have important implication in both understanding the complex mechanisms involved in collagen mineralization and optimal designing of advanced bio-inspired materials with potential superior mechanical and biological properties.

Key words: Silicon, Hydroxyapatite, Biomineralization, Electrospinning, Nanofiber, Gelatin