Bioactive Interlinked Extracellular Matrix–Like Silicon Nano-Network Fabricated by Femtosecond Laser Synthesis

Nanostructured silicon has proven to be a promising candidate in tissue engineering. However, recent research on fabrication of silicon scaffolds has been limited to expensive, complex, and time-consuming lithographic tech-niques that require the addition of caustic chemicals. Moreover, these techniques generate structures that do not truly mimic the extracellular matrix (ECM). Therefore, we introduce a novel, interlinked, silicon nano-network fabricated by MHz ultrafast laser synthesis. We demonstrate that ultrafast laser synthesis is simple, rapid, free of any chemical additions, and can be carried out under ambient conditions. Variation in laser para-meters resulted in an alteration in the pore size and density of the silicon fibrous network. Microscopic analysis revealed a highly charged silicon network with elevated adhesion forces. In vitro bioactivity tests indicate the pre-cipitation of bone-like apatite in just 3 days. Cell proliferation studies on the silicon nano-network present a 300% increase in comparison to its bulk counterpart. Scanning electron microscopy analysis shows healthy migration and attachment of cells on the silicon nano-network. This study points to a correlation between elevated cell pro-liferation and the ECM-like structure of the silicon nano-network. This ECM-like silicon nano-network suggests significant potential not only in tissue engineering and regeneration but also in other biomedical applications such as biosensor detection. Key words: biomaterials; extracellular matrix; tissue engineerin