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Microporous drug-eluting large silk particles through cryo-granulation
Ilya A Rodionov1, Nadia Abdullah1, David L Kaplan1
1Department of Biomedical Engineering, Tufts University, 4 Colby Street, Medford, Massachusetts 02155, United States.
Advanced Engineering Materials
|January 2, 2020
Summary
Researchers developed a simple method to create large, porous, drug-loaded silk particles. This cryogranulation technique efficiently encapsulates drugs, maintaining their potency and showing cell compatibility for potential therapeutic applications.
Area of Science:
- Biomaterials Science
- Drug Delivery Systems
- Particle Engineering
Background:
- Developing methods for creating well-defined, drug-loaded particles is crucial for advanced therapeutic applications.
- Silk proteins offer biocompatibility and tunable properties for biomaterial development.
- Controlling particle morphology and drug encapsulation efficiency remains a challenge.
Purpose of the Study:
- To present a facile method for preparing large, microporous, drug-loaded silk particles.
- To investigate the influence of process parameters on particle characteristics.
- To evaluate drug encapsulation efficiency, release profiles, and biological activity.
Main Methods:
- High shear bollus injections of silk-crosslinker-drug colloids into super-cooled hexane.
- Cryogranulation involving rapid freezing (-60°C) and freeze-thaw cycles (-20°C).
- Characterization of particle size, pore morphology, drug encapsulation, and release kinetics.
Main Results:
- Successfully produced meso-scale (100-1,300 µm) silk particles with interconnected micropores (0.1-10 µm).
- Achieved nearly 100% drug encapsulation efficiency for various antibiotics and doxorubicin.
- Demonstrated retained antibacterial potency and cytocompatibility with human cells.
Conclusions:
- Cryogranulation is an effective one-step method for producing drug-loaded microporous silk particles.
- Particle characteristics and drug release are controllable via formulation and process parameters.
- The developed silk particles show promise for effective and safe drug delivery.
