The nano-hydroxyapatite/silk fibroin (nHA/SF) composite scaffolds were prepared by the commixing process. The, and their in vitro degradation behavior and the biocompatibility was of nHA/SF composite scaffolds were investigated in this work. The in vitro degradation experiments showed that the composite scaffolds had a stable and appropriate degradation rate, accompanied by the HA crystal growth and perfection due to the ion exchanges of Ca2＋and between the HA crystals and the degradation buffer. The viable cell counting, methyl thiazolyl and tetrazolium (MTT) assay and alkaline phosphatase (ALP) test were used to evaluate the cell biocompatibility of the nHA/SF composite scaffolds. The data showed that the MG63 cells have had good adhesion and proliferation abilities on the nHA/SF composite scaffolds, which could induce the early osteogenic differentiation. ConclusionlyConclusively, the nHA/SF composite scaffolds may be a promising candidate for the bone tissue engineering.

Key words: hydroxyapatite (HA), silk fibroin, composite scaffold, in vitro degradation, biocompatibility