Developing a transparent substitute with high water permeability and similar mechanical properties to cornea is one of the major challenge in corneal tissue engineering. Here, transparent hybrid films based on silk nanofibrils (SNF)/gelatin methacryloyl (GelMA) are introduced for cornea tissue engineering. The mechanical properties, transparency, degradation rate and swelling ratio of hybrid films could be tuned by modulation the volume ratio of SNF to GelMA. Among them, the optimal SNF/GelMA ratio of 30/70 shows high transparency with a light transmittance of more than 85% in the wet state, hydrophilicity and mechanical properties close to the natural corneal stroma. The elastic modulus of 36.2 ± 7 kPa, the tensile strength of 3.8 ± 1 MPa and the ability to absorb water up to 138 ± 27% are the features of this hybrid membrane. Moreover, incorporation of SNF upon 30 (v/v) % (30S/70G sample) significantly reduces the degradation rate of GelMA (upon 2 times) making it promising for cornea regeneration. Cell culture studies also prove the ability of SNF/GelMA films to support the attachment, spreading and proliferation of stromal cells, depending on the film composition. Noticeably, 30S/70G film significantly promotes cell metabolic activity (2 times) compared to SNF. In addition, 97 ± 2% of the area of this sample is covered with cells after 5 days of culture which is 8 times greater than that of SNF. In summary, the SNF/GelMA film with volume ratio of 30/70 presents desirable mechanical, optical and biological properties making it an attractive candidate for the regeneration of cornea.

开发具有高透水性和类似于角膜的机械性能的透明替代物是角膜组织工程中的主要挑战之一。在这里，介绍了基于丝纳米纤维（SNF）/明胶甲基丙烯酰（GelMA）的透明混合膜，用于角膜组织工程。可以通过调节SNF与GelMA的体积比来调节杂化膜的机械性能，透明度，降解率和溶胀率。其中，最佳的SNF / GelMA比为30/70，显示出高透明性，在湿态下的透光率超过85％，亲水性和机械性能接近天然角膜基质。这种混合膜的特点是弹性模量为36.2±7 kPa，抗张强度为3.8±1 MPa，吸水能力高达138±27％。此外，在30（v / v）％（30S / 70G样品）中加入SNF可以显着降低GelMA的降解率（2倍），从而有望用于角膜再生。细胞培养研究还证明了SNF / GelMA膜支持基质细胞附着，扩散和增殖的能力，具体取决于膜的组成。值得注意的是，与SNF相比，30S / 70G膜可显着促进细胞代谢活性（2倍）。另外，培养5天后，该样品面积的97±2％被细胞覆盖，这是SNF的8倍。总之，体积比为30/70的SNF / GelMA膜具有理想的机械，光学和生物学特性，使其成为角膜再生的诱人候选物。