Granulation tissue formation in diabetic wounds is predominantly controlled by proliferation and extracellular matrix (ECM) deposition of diabetic fibroblasts (DFs). Accumulating evidence shows the proliferation and ECM deposition of DFs are significantly different than their normal counterparts. More specifically DFs are known to deposit altered ECM such as lower levels of Hyaluronan (HA) and higher crosslinking of collagens. The altered ECM in diabetic wounds results in altered mechanical properties and accumulating evidence shows surrounding mechanical properties of the matrix have an impact on cell behavior. We hypothesized that wound dressings designed towards use in diabetic wounds would address matrix mechanics alongside with matrix composition. We designed a tunable stiffness Silk Fibroin (SF) hydrogel matrix with an ability to attract and retain endogenous HA to accommodate for altered stiffness and compromised HA levels in these pathologies. The SF hydrogels will be grafted with a novel HA binding peptide (HABP) to aid in the attraction of these HA. Our goal is to create a therapeutic biomaterial platform to treat diabetic fibroblasts into a healthy phenotype. Creation of silk hydrogels. Mechanical mixing and lyophilization were used to develop the 3D SF hydrogels of varying stiffnesses. Silk binding peptide (SBP) motifs were used to aid in the grafting of the HABP to the SF hydrogels. SEM imaging, swelling ratio, and DMA were used to physically characterize the hydrogels. A carbazole assay was used to measure the endogenous HA binding capacity. Diabetic fibroblast physiology Metabolic activity, proliferation, and cell morphology assays were used to measure the effected of the SF hydrogel HA binding capacity on dhDF. To evaluate the role of HABP directed HA deposition on dhDF physiology we performed a PCR array targeting wound healing associated genes.We found softer substrate stiffness caused the dhDF to behave more like the hDF in both metabolic activity and with the cell morphology. There was a 15.6% decrease in the aspect ratio and a 16.4% increase in circularity for the dhDF when placed on a softer surface. This data was indicative that the dhDF were beginning to exhibit more fibroblast like behaviors on a softer surface. In light of these results, we developed microporous SF hydrogels and current studies undergoing to incorporate HABPs through silk binding peptide sequences. The swelling ratio of these SF hydrogels are 26.04 1.77% and the pore size is 62.056 ± 31.985 mm. Based on our findings we anticipate that the SF hydrogels with HABP to will retain endogenous HA and cause therapeutic changes in the physiology of the dhDF similar to our stiffness studies.