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ORIGINAL RESEARCH

Development and characterization of injectable platelet lysate–silk fibroin hydrogels as candidate biomaterials for canine intradiscal application

Kannika Chayatup1,2,3,4 ,  Sarinthorn Boonkruephan2 ,  Saran Keeratihattayakorn1,2,3 ,  Jirasak Jitpibull2 ,  Chalika Wangdee3,4,5,6* ,  Juthamas Ratanavaraporn1,2,3,5*
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1 Biomedical Engineering Program, Faculty of Engineering, Chulalongkorn University, Bangkok, Thailand
2 Biomedical Engineering Research Center, Faculty of Engineering, Chulalongkorn University, Bangkok, Thailand
3 Biomedical Materials and Devices for Revolutionary Integrative Systems Engineering (BMD-RISE) Research Unit, Faculty of Engineering, Chulalongkorn University, Bangkok, Thailand
4 Department of Veterinary Surgery, Faculty of Veterinary Science, Chulalongkorn University, Bangkok, Thailand
5 Center of Excellence in Biomaterial Engineering in Medical and Health, Faculty of Engineering, Chulalongkorn University, Bangkok, Thailand
6 Center of Excellence for Veterinary Clinical Stem Cells and Bioengineering, Faculty of Veterinary Science, Chulalongkorn University, Bangkok, Thailand
BMT, 249 https://doi.org/10.12336/bmt.25.00249
Submitted: 8 December 2025 | Revised: 29 April 2026 | Accepted: 30 April 2026 | Published: 16 June 2026
© 2026 by the Author(s). Licensee Biomaterials Translational, USA. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 (CC BY-NC-SA 4.0) (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/deed.en)
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Abstract

Canine intervertebral disc degeneration is associated with extracellular matrix depletion, reduced nucleus pulposus (NP) hydration, and impaired biomechanical function. This study developed platelet lysate–silk fibroin (PL–TSF) hydrogels, combining platelet-derived bioactive mediators with a tunable hydrogel-forming matrix, as candidate biomaterials for canine intradiscal application and evaluated their formulation-level properties. Pre-formed PL–TSF hydrogels showed practical syringe-based handling, with 2–3% formulations gelling within the pre-defined 30-min window under 90 s sonication and extruding smoothly through a 27-gauge spinal needle; PL–TSF 2.5% also exhibited shear-thinning and post-shear gel-like recovery. PL–TSF hydrogels maintained a stable post-immersion wet mass, remaining within 1.019–1.034-fold of the initial injected mass over 24 h, with a porous, interconnected micromorphology consistent with a scaffold-like matrix architecture. PL–TSF 2.5–3% exhibited compliant compressive behavior, with moduli of approximately 10–17 kPa, supporting a scaffold-like material profile for NP-oriented application. PL–TSF hydrogels degraded progressively over 35 days and exhibited biphasic, sustained transforming growth factor-β1 release for up to 28 days, with the release data best fit by the Korsmeyer–Peppas model (R2 = 0.99), supporting diffusion-dominated release. PL–TSF hydrogel extracts maintained cell viability above the 70% non-cytotoxicity threshold, whereas undiluted PL solution reduced viability to 56.3 ± 10.9%, indicating that TSF matrix incorporation provided a cytocompatible format for PL-derived component presentation. Overall, PL–TSF hydrogels within the 2–3% TSF range showed formulation characteristics relevant to pre-formed injectable delivery, scaffold-like material behavior, and local presentation of platelet-derived factors, supporting further biological and pre-clinical evaluation for canine intradiscal application.

Keywords
Platelet lysate
Silk fibroin
Hydrogel
Biomaterial characterization
Intradiscal application
Intervertebral disc
Funding
The authors acknowledge the financial support provided by the 100th Anniversary Chulalongkorn University Fund for Doctoral Scholarship, awarded by the Graduate School, Chulalongkorn University, and the 111th Anniversary Engineering Research Catalyst Fund Towards U Top 100, Faculty of Engineering, Chulalongkorn University.
Conflict of interest
The authors declare no conflict of interest.
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