Articolo in rivista, 2020, ENG, 10.3390/ma13163580

Diclofenac Embedded in Silk Fibroin Fibers as a Drug Delivery System

Siskova, Alena Opalkova; Kozma, Erika; Opalek, Andrej; Kronekova, Zuzana; Kleinova, Angela; Nagy, Stefan; Kronek, Juraj; Rydz, Joanna; Andicsova, Anita Eckstein

Slovak Acad Sci; Inst Chem Sci & Technol Giulio Natta SCITEC CNR; Slovak Acad Sci; Polish Acad Sci

Silk fibroin is a biocompatible, non-toxic, mechanically robust protein, and it is commonly used and studied as a material for biomedical applications. Silk fibroin also gained particular interest as a drug carrier vehicle, and numerous silk formats have been investigated for this purpose. Herein, we have prepared electrospun nanofibers from pure silk fibroin and blended silk fibroin/casein, followed by the incorporation of an anti-inflammatory drug, diclofenac. Casein serves as an excipient in pharmaceutical products and has a positive effect on the gradual release of drugs. The characteristics of the investigated composites were estimated by scanning electron microscope, transmission electron microscope, thermogravimetric analysis, and a lifetime of diclofenac by electron paramagnetic resonance analysis. The cumulative release in vitro of diclofenac sodium salt, together with the antiproliferative effect of diclofenac sodium salt-loaded silk nanofibers against the growth of two cancer cell lines, are presented and discussed.

Materials (Basel) 13 (16)

Keywords

silk fibroin, nanofibers, electrospinning, casein, diclofenac, drug delivery system

CNR authors

Kozma Erika

CNR institutes