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Updated: Aug 16, 2026
Manufacture and Drug Delivery Applications of Silk Nanoparticles
Published on: October 8, 2016
Dual-functional liposomes for curcumin delivery and accelerating silk fibroin hydrogel formation
Chavee Laomeephol1, Helena Ferreira2, Sorada Kanokpanont3
1Biomedical Engineering Research Center, Faculty of Engineering, Chulalongkorn University, Bangkok 10330, Thailand; Biomaterial Engineering for Medical and Health Research Unit, Faculty of Engineering, Chulalongkorn University, Bangkok 10330, Thailand; International Center for Materials Nanoarchitectonics (WPI-MANA), National Institute for Materials Science (NIMS), Ibaraki, Japan.
This study developed silk fibroin (SF) hydrogels using liposomes to deliver curcumin, an anticancer drug, at tumor sites. These drug-loaded hydrogels show potential for preventing cancer recurrence by eliminating residual cancer cells.
Area of Science:
- Biomaterials Science
- Drug Delivery Systems
- Cancer Therapy
Background:
- Post-surgical administration of drug-loaded implantable hydrogels can prevent local tumor recurrence and metastasis.
- Silk fibroin (SF) hydrogels offer a promising platform for localized drug delivery.
- Enhancing the stability and efficacy of anticancer drugs within delivery systems is crucial.
Purpose of the Study:
- To develop Dimyristoyl glycerophosphorylglycerol (DMPG)-based liposomes for rapid silk fibroin (SF) hydrogel induction.
- To encapsulate and enhance the stability of the anticancer drug curcumin within these liposomes.
- To evaluate the in vitro biological activity and potential of liposome-SF hydrogels as a post-surgical cancer treatment.
Main Methods:
- Development of DMPG-based liposomes for curcumin loading and SF gelation.
- Characterization of liposome-SF hydrogel gelation times (3 min to >6 h).
- In vitro evaluation of hydrogel cytotoxicity and cell attachment using L929 fibroblasts and MDA-MB-231 breast cancer cells.
Main Results:
- Liposome-SF hydrogels demonstrated tunable gelation times.
- Curcumin release from the hydrogels effectively inhibited cancer cell growth.
- Hydrogels loaded with curcumin exhibited low cell survival rates due to reduced cell attachment and drug cytotoxicity.
Conclusions:
- Liposome-SF hydrogels provide a stable platform for curcumin delivery.
- These hydrogels show potential as a post-surgical sealant to eliminate residual cancer cells at the tumor site.
- The developed system offers a promising strategy for preventing local cancer recurrence and metastasis.
