title: Silk as an innovative biomaterial for cancer therapy.
abstract: Silk has been used for centuries in the textile industry and as surgical sutures. In addition to its unique mechanical properties, silk possesses other properties, such as biocompatibility, biodegradability and ability to self-assemble, which make it an interesting material for biomedical applications. Although silk forms only fibers in nature, synthetic techniques can be used to control the processing of silk into different morphologies, such as scaffolds, films, hydrogels, microcapsules, and micro- and nanospheres. Moreover, the biotechnological production of silk proteins broadens the potential applications of silk. Synthetic silk genes have been designed. Genetic engineering enables modification of silk properties or the construction of a hybrid silk. Bioengineered hybrid silks consist of a silk sequence that self-assembles into the desired morphological structure and the sequence of a polypeptide that confers a function to the silk biomaterial. The functional domains can comprise binding sites for receptors, enzymes, drugs, metals or sugars, among others. Here, we review the current status of potential applications of silk biomaterials in the field of oncology with a focus on the generation of implantable, injectable and targeted drug delivery systems and the three-dimensional cancer models based on silk scaffolds for cancer research. However, the systems described could be applied in many biomedical fields.
authors: Chair of Medical Biotechnology, Poznan University of Medical Sciences, 61-866 Poznan, Poland ; NanoBioMedical Centre, Adam Mickiewicz University, Poznan, 61-614 Poznan, Poland.
authors: Katarzyna
authors: K
authors: Jastrzebska
authors: Chair of Medical Biotechnology, Poznan University of Medical Sciences, 61-866 Poznan, Poland.
authors: Kamil
authors: K
authors: Kucharczyk
authors: Chair of Medical Biotechnology, Poznan University of Medical Sciences, 61-866 Poznan, Poland ; NanoBioMedical Centre, Adam Mickiewicz University, Poznan, 61-614 Poznan, Poland.
authors: Anna
authors: A
authors: Florczak
authors: Chair of Medical Biotechnology, Poznan University of Medical Sciences, 61-866 Poznan, Poland.
authors: Ewelina
authors: E
authors: Dondajewska
authors: Chair of Medical Biotechnology, Poznan University of Medical Sciences, 61-866 Poznan, Poland ; Department of Diagnostics and Cancer Immunology, Greater Poland Cancer Centre, 61-688 Poznan, Poland ; BioContract, 61-051 Poznan, Poland.
authors: Andrzej
authors: A
authors: Mackiewicz
authors: Chair of Medical Biotechnology, Poznan University of Medical Sciences, 61-866 Poznan, Poland ; Department of Diagnostics and Cancer Immunology, Greater Poland Cancer Centre, 61-688 Poznan, Poland.
authors: Hanna
authors: H
authors: Dams-Kozlowska
keywords: 3D cancer model; Bioengineered silk; Cancer therapy; Drug delivery; Silkworm silk; Spider silk