Simple fabrication of sericin/graphene nanocomposites for application in articular cartilage repair in knee joints in nursing care

In the present work, sericin/reduced graphene oxide (SSG) nanocomposites are synthesized through a low cost, facile and biological approach. An anticipated amount of sericin powder was mixed to GO dispersion with sericin/GO ratios of 10:1, 50:1, and 100:1 to obtain sericin/rGO nanocomposites such as SSG10, SSG50, and SSG100, respectively. TEM images revealed the rough surface of graphene sheets with obtained proteins assembled on the surface of the GO nanosheets. Further, biological studies revealed that SSG nanocomposites significantly promoted the collagen levels and glycosaminoglycan. Cell proliferation results showed the effective growth of MSCs with SSG100 than GO, SSG10, and SSG50. Also, the confocal microscopic images exhibited the spindle-like morphology of MSCs with uniform size and increased cell density on the 5th day of cell proliferation in case of SSG100 than GO and other nanocomposites. Therefore, the present results suggest that the fabricated SSG hybrid material could act as promising candidates for future applications of repairing articular cartilage in knee joints in nursing care.