Composite spheres made of bioengineered spider silk and iron oxide nanoparticles for theranostics applications

PLoS One. 2019 Jul 15;14(7):e0219790. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0219790. eCollection 2019.

Abstract

Bioengineered spider silk is a biomaterial that has exquisite mechanical properties, biocompatibility, and biodegradability. Iron oxide nanoparticles can be applied for the detection and analysis of biomolecules, target drug delivery, as MRI contrast agents and as therapeutic agents for hyperthermia-based cancer treatments. In this study, we investigated three bioengineered silks, MS1, MS2 and EMS2, and their potential to form a composite material with magnetic iron oxide nanoparticles (IONPs). The presence of IONPs did not impede the self-assembly properties of MS1, MS2, and EMS2 silks, and spheres formed. The EMS2 spheres had the highest content of IONPs, and the presence of magnetite IONPs in these carriers was confirmed by several methods such as SEM, EDXS, SQUID, MIP-OES and zeta potential measurement. The interaction of EMS2 and IONPs did not modify the superparamagnetic properties of the IONPs, but it influenced the secondary structure of the spheres. The composite particles exhibited a more than two-fold higher loading efficiency for doxorubicin than the plain EMS2 spheres. For both the EMS2 and EMS2/IONP spheres, the drug revealed a pH-dependent release profile with advantageous kinetics for carriers made of the composite material. The composite spheres can be potentially applied for a combined cancer treatment via hyperthermia and drug delivery.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Animals
  • Biocompatible Materials
  • Contrast Media
  • Doxorubicin / administration & dosage
  • Drug Carriers / chemistry
  • Ferric Compounds / chemistry*
  • Hyperthermia, Induced / instrumentation
  • Magnetite Nanoparticles / chemistry
  • Metal Nanoparticles / chemistry*
  • Mice
  • NIH 3T3 Cells
  • Protein Engineering / methods*
  • Protein Structure, Secondary
  • Silk*
  • Spiders
  • Theranostic Nanomedicine / instrumentation*
  • Theranostic Nanomedicine / methods*

Substances

  • Biocompatible Materials
  • Contrast Media
  • Drug Carriers
  • Ferric Compounds
  • Magnetite Nanoparticles
  • Silk
  • ferric oxide
  • Doxorubicin

Grants and funding

HDK - Funder: The National Science Centre, Poland; Grant number: 2014/15/B/NZ7/00903. MG - Funder: The National Science Centre, Poland; Grant numbers: UMO-2016/23/B/NZ7/01288 and UMO-2012/06/A/ST4/00373. The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.