Silk nano‐discs: A natural material for cancer therapy

Abstract

The article demonstrates the crystalline silk nano‐discs (CSNs), with well‐controlled morphology, which upon magnetization, yields magnetic crystalline silk nano‐discs, making both prominent alternatives for replacing metal templates such as gold, silver, and so on in therapeutics and implants. The isolated β‐sheet‐rich discotic CSNs have ~50 nm diameter, high crystallinity (> 90%), and are insoluble but provide good dispersibility and stability in aqueous solutions. The melt blending‐cum‐electrospinning of functionalized CSN with poly(lactic acid) results in biocompatible nanofiber‐based scaffolds having in vitro cell cytocompatibility with improved cell adhesion and proliferation. The assessment of release behavior of curcumin, a naturally occurring anticancer drug, shows sustained release over 25 days exhibiting effective cytotoxicity against human cervical cancer cells. Further, combined effect of curcumin and hyperthermia reduced the cell growth by ~63%. Alignment of CSN‐derived magnetic nanoparticles due to effective fiber drawing process during electrospinning could improve cytocompatibility against BHK‐21 cells, and therefore efficacy for cancer therapy.

Effect of Iron-Oxide Nanoparticles Impregnated Bacterial Cellulose on Overall Properties of Alginate/Casein Hydrogels: Potential Injectable Biomaterial for Wound Healing Applications

“…Alginate exhibited peaks at 2θ = 13.4° and 22.0°, while casein exhibited peaks at 2θ = 9.5° and 19.5°. Synthesized FeNPs showed characteristic peaks at 30.4° (220), 35.6° (311), 43.4° (400), 53.6° (422), 57.4° (511) and 63.5 (440), corresponding to Fe 3 O 4 nanoparticles [ 1 ].…”

“…The in vitro dug release was performed as per the already reported procedures with slight modification [ 1 ]. The hydrogel samples were loaded with the drug minocycline hydrochloride (MH) by soaking in 10 mL drug solution of ~0.5 mg·mL −1 in dH 2 O:DMF (93:7) for 48 h at room temperature.…”

“…During the past few decades, biomaterials have seen a shift from use of artificial materials such as plastics, ceramics and metals to naturally occurring biopolymers such as polysaccharides and proteins [ 1 , 2 ]. Biomaterials at present are used in a variety of forms such as hydrogels, sponges, scaffolds, electrospun mesh and so on [ 3 ].…”

“…Fe 3 O 4 is a low-cost and abundant MNP with super-paramagnetic and responsive properties, making it a suitable candidate for preparation of magnetic injectable hydrogels. It has been found that the presence of MNPs can play an important factor in cell proliferation [ 1 ].…”

“…Recently, MNPs have been attached to other filler materials such as silk nanocrystals, cellulose nanocrystals, bacterial cellulose (BC) and so on [ 1 , 20 , 21 ]. BC has been extensively used as a reinforcing material for biomedical applications over the last few decades, mainly due to high purity, crystallinity, water retention, biocompatibility and mechanical properties [ 22 ].…”