title: Milled non-mulberry silk fibroin microparticles as biomaterial for biomedical applications.
abstract: Silk fibroin has been widely employed in various forms as biomaterials for biomedical applications due to its superb biocompatibility and tunable degradation and mechanical properties. Herein, silk fibroin microparticles of non-mulberry silkworm species (Antheraea assamensis, Antheraea mylitta and Philosamia ricini) were fabricated via a top-down approach using a combination of wet-milling and spray drying techniques. Microparticles of mulberry silkworm (Bombyx mori) were also utilized for comparative studies. The fabricated microparticles were physico-chemically characterized for size, stability, morphology, chemical composition and thermal properties. The silk fibroin microparticles of all species were porous (∼5μm in size) and showed nearly spherical morphology with rough surface as revealed from dynamic light scattering and microscopic studies. Non-mulberry silk microparticles maintained the typical silk-II structure with β-sheet secondary conformation with higher thermal stability. Additionally, non-mulberry silk fibroin microparticles supported enhanced cell adhesion, spreading and viability of mouse fibroblasts than mulberry silk fibroin microparticles (p<0.001) as evidenced from fluorescence microscopy and cytotoxicity studies. Furthermore, in vitro drug release from the microparticles showed a significantly sustained release over 3 weeks. Taken together, this study demonstrates promising attributes of non-mulberry silk fibroin microparticles as a potential drug delivery vehicle/micro carrier for diverse biomedical applications.
authors.affiliation: Seri-Biotechnology Unit, Life Science Division, Institute of Advanced Study in Science and Technology, Guwahati 781035, India.
authors.forename: Nandana
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Bhardwaj
authors.affiliation: Australian Future Fibers Research and Innovation Centre, Institute for Frontier Materials, Deakin University, Waurn Ponds, Victoria 3217, Australia.
authors.forename: Rangam
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Rajkhowa
authors.affiliation: Australian Future Fibers Research and Innovation Centre, Institute for Frontier Materials, Deakin University, Waurn Ponds, Victoria 3217, Australia. Electronic address: xwang@deakin.edu.au.
authors.forename: Xungai
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: Seri-Biotechnology Unit, Life Science Division, Institute of Advanced Study in Science and Technology, Guwahati 781035, India. Electronic address: dipali.devi@gmail.com.
authors.forename: Dipali
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Devi
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001672:Biocompatible Materials / Q000737:chemistry*; D012831:Bombyx / Q000737:chemistry*; D002152:Calorimetry, Differential Scanning; D002448:Cell Adhesion; D002460:Cell Line; D002470:Cell Survival; D004337:Drug Carriers / Q000737:chemistry; D065546:Drug Liberation; D005347:Fibroblasts; D005349:Fibroins / Q000737:chemistry*; D051379:Mice; D047011:Silk / Q000737:chemistry*; D017550:Spectroscopy, Fourier Transform Infrared; D013818:Thermogravimetry
chemical_list: D001672:Biocompatible Materials; D004337:Drug Carriers; D047011:Silk; D005349:Fibroins
keywords: Biomaterials; Biomedical applications; Drug delivery; Microparticles; Non-mulberry silk; Silk fibroin