Biomimetic interconnected porous keratin–fibrin–gelatin 3D sponge for tissue engineering application

•Fabrication of highly interconnected porous spongy material for tissue engineering.•Utilization of keratin and fibrin (biological waste) as a dressing material (wealth).•Wound dressing was fabricated without the use of any strong chemical solvents.•The spongy porous scaffold exhibits good biocompatibility and antimicrobial activity.•The medicated dressing material mimics the function of the extracellular matrix.

The medicated wound dressing material with highly interconnected pores, mimicking the function of the extracellular matrix was fabricated for the promotion of cell growth. In this study, keratin (K), fibrin (F) and gelatin (G) composite scaffold (KFG-SPG) was fabricated by freeze drying technique and the mupirocin (D) drug was successfully incorporated with KFG-SPG (KFG-SPG-D) intended for tissue engineering applications. The fabrication of scaffold was performed without the use of any strong chemical solvents, and the solid sponge scaffold was obtained with well interconnected pores. The porous morphology of the scaffold was confirmed by SEM analysis and exhibited competent mechanical properties. KFG-SPG and KFG-SPG-D possess high level of biocompatibility, cell proliferation and cell adhesion of NIH 3T3 fibroblast and human keratinocytes (HaCaT) cell lines thereby indicating the scaffolds potential as a suitable medicated dressing for wound healing.