Silk protein fibroin in nanoparticles form is a promising material for drug delivery due to its pleiotropic properties, including biocompatibility, biodegradability, ease in fabrication into smaller diameters, high bioavailability, and therapeutic retention at target sites. In the present study, silk nanoparticles are fabricated from regenerated fibroin solution of the Chinese temperate oak tasar Antheraea pernyi by novel ion-induced self-assembly in a very short time under mild conditions. The resultant fibroin nanoparticles range in size from 100 to 500 nm. The molecular conformation of regenerated fibroin changes from α-helical to a β-sheet structure as a rapid function of the ionic strength and the hydrophobic and electrostatic interactions. The mild conditions are potentially advantageous for the encapsulation of sensitive drugs and therapeutic molecules such as doxorubicin hydrochloride, an amphiphilic anticancer therapeutic. In vitro release of doxorubicin from nanoparticles is pH sensitive, with approx. 65% doxorubicin remaining in the fibroin nanoparticles after 11 days. The activity of fibroin nanoparticles on hepatomas indicates the efficacy of the fibroin nanoparticles to maintain the bioactivity of the loaded doxorubicin and impart a dose-dependent cell growth inhibition. The results suggest that Chinese temperate oak tasar silk fibroin nanoparticles can be used as a sustained drug delivery vehicle.
Keywords: Drug delivery; Nanoparticles; Silk fibroin.
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