Plasma-treated silk fibroin nanofibers for skin regeneration

Silk fibroin (SF) nanofibers were prepared by electrospinning and treated with plasma in the presence of oxygen or methane gas to modify their surface characteristics. The surface characteristics of the SF nanofibers after plasma treatment were examined using contact angle measurements and XPS analysis. The hydrophilicity of the electrospun SF nanofibers decreased slightly by the CH4 plasma treatment. On the other hand, the hydrophilicity of the SF nanofibers increased greatly by an O2 plasma treatment. The O2-treated SF nanofibers showed higher cellular activities for both normal human epidermal keratinocytes (NHEK) and fibroblasts (NHEF) than the untreated ones.