Journal Article

Composite spheres made of bioengineered spider silk and iron oxide nanoparticles for theranostics applications

Mackiewicz, Andrzej, Hilgendorff, Michael, Kucharczyk, Kamil, Krupinski, Michal, Rybka, Jakub Dalibor, Slachcinski, Mariusz, Giersig, Michael, Dams-Kozlowska, Hanna

2019

Overview

Bioengineered spider silk is a biomaterial that has exquisite mechanical properties, biocompatibility, and biodegradability. Iron oxide nanoparticles can be applied for the detection and analysis of biomolecules, target drug delivery, as MRI contrast agents and as therapeutic agents for hyperthermia-based cancer treatments. In this study, we investigated three bioengineered silks, MS1, MS2 and EMS2, and their potential to form a composite material with magnetic iron oxide nanoparticles (IONPs). The presence of IONPs did not impede the self-assembly properties of MS1, MS2, and EMS2 silks, and spheres formed. The EMS2 spheres had the highest content of IONPs, and the presence of magnetite IONPs in these carriers was confirmed by several methods such as SEM, EDXS, SQUID, MIP-OES and zeta potential measurement. The interaction of EMS2 and IONPs did not modify the superparamagnetic properties of the IONPs, but it influenced the secondary structure of the spheres. The composite particles exhibited a more than two-fold higher loading efficiency for doxorubicin than the plain EMS2 spheres. For both the EMS2 and EMS2/IONP spheres, the drug revealed a pH-dependent release profile with advantageous kinetics for carriers made of the composite material. The composite spheres can be potentially applied for a combined cancer treatment via hyperthermia and drug delivery.

• Publisher: Public Library of Science,Public Library of Science (PLoS)
• Subject: Animals / Anthracyclines / Biochemistry / Biocompatibility / Biocompatible Materials / Biodegradability / Biodegradation / Bioengineering / Biological products / Biology and Life Sciences / Biomaterials / Biomedical materials / Biomolecules / Biotechnology / Cancer / Cancer therapies / Cancer treatment / Care and treatment / Carriers / Cell adhesion & migration / Chemical compounds / Chemotherapy / Composite materials / Contrast agents / Contrast Media / Diagnostic imaging / Doxorubicin / Doxorubicin - administration & dosage / Drug Carriers - chemistry / Drug delivery / Drug delivery systems / Drugs / Earth Sciences / Engineering and Technology / Ferric Compounds - chemistry / Ferric oxide / Fever / Hyperthermia / Hyperthermia, Induced - instrumentation / Immunology / Iron / Iron compounds / Iron oxides / Kinetics / Magnetic resonance imaging / Magnetite / Magnetite Nanoparticles - chemistry / Mechanical properties / Medicine and Health Sciences / Metal Nanoparticles - chemistry / Mice / Nanoparticles / NIH 3T3 Cells / NMR / Nuclear magnetic resonance / Particulate composites / Patient outcomes / pH effects / Pharmacology / Physical Sciences / Physics / Polyamides / Precision medicine / Protein Engineering - methods / Protein structure / Protein Structure, Secondary / Proteins / Secondary structure / Self-assembly / Silk / Spheres / Spiders / Spinel group / Superconducting quantum interference devices / Theranostic Nanomedicine - instrumentation / Theranostic Nanomedicine - methods / Zeta potential