Abstract
Simple SummaryApplication of drug delivery systems (DDS) in oncology may increase the effectiveness of cancer treatment and reduce the associated adverse side effects. Although various biomaterials can be considered for the development of DDS, the materials of natural origin offer great biocompatibility and degradability. Silk is a natural biomaterial with exceptional properties, and one of them is the possibility to form diverse morphological structures. Scaffolds, films, hydrogels, fibers, foams spheres, capsules, microneedles, among others, can be used for local and systemic drug delivery. In this review, we described the various silk-based DDS for potential application in oncology. However, the unique silk properties combined with the possibility of their further modifications and blending open the gate to numerous potential biomedical applications, not only in the oncology field.For years, surgery, radiotherapy, and chemotherapy have been the gold standards to treat cancer, although continuing research has sought a more effective approach. While advances can be seen in the development of anticancer drugs, the tools that can improve their delivery remain a challenge. As anticancer drugs can affect the entire body, the control of their distribution is desirable to prevent systemic toxicity. The application of a suitable drug delivery platform may resolve this problem. Among other materials, silks offer many advantageous properties, including biodegradability, biocompatibility, and the possibility of obtaining a variety of morphological structures. These characteristics allow the exploration of silk for biomedical applications and as a platform for drug delivery. We have reviewed silk structures that can be used for local and systemic drug delivery for use in cancer therapy. After a short description of the most studied silks, we discuss the advantages of using silk for drug delivery. The tables summarize the descriptions of silk structures for the local and systemic transport of anticancer drugs. The most popular techniques for silk particle preparation are presented. Further prospects for using silk as a drug carrier are considered. The application of various silk biomaterials can improve cancer treatment by the controllable delivery of chemotherapeutics, immunotherapeutics, photosensitizers, hormones, nucleotherapeutics, targeted therapeutics (e.g., kinase inhibitors), and inorganic nanoparticles, among others.
Highlights
SS has been reported to be minimally inflammatory in the absence of fibroin [39,40,41], which suggests that the interaction of SS with silk fibroin (SF) may be related to inflammatory outcomes [42]
Silk films loaded with doxorubicin reduced metastatic spread, no local or systemic toxicity
We summarized the physical properties of silk particles and the most important findings related to the use of in vitro and in vivo drug delivery systems in cancer models (Tables 2 and 3)
Summary
Locoregional cancer treatment relies on the implementation of drug delivery vehicles for cancerous lesions This strategy involves synthetic or natural polymer-based foams, wafers, fiber mats, and scaffolds. In this approach, mostly biodegradable matrices are proposed to avoid additional surgery for the removal of the biomaterial and to prevent a chronic immune response against foreign bodies [2]. Systemic drug delivery relies on nanomaterial-based DDSs, such as liposomes, micelles, dendrimers, and nanoparticles (NPs) that deliver therapeutic agents to cancer [3,4]. These DDSs offer enhanced pharmacokinetic parameters, such as high clearance value, large volume distribution, and greater bioavailability to cancer cells. After a short description of the most studied silks and presentation of the advantages of using silk for controlled drug delivery, we focused on local and systemic silk-based DDSs dedicated to cancer therapy
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