Silk fibroin nanoparticle as a novel drug delivery system

Design and synthesis of efficient drug delivery systems are of vital importance for medicine and healthcare. Nanocarrier-based drug delivery systems, in particular nanoparticles, have generated great excitement in the field of drug delivery since they provide new opportunities to overcome the limitations of conventional delivery methodswith regards to the drugs. Silk fibroin (SF) is a naturally occurring protein polymer with several unique properties that make it a suitablematerial for incorporation into a variety of drug delivery vehicles capable of delivering a range of therapeutic agents. SF matrices have been shown to successfully deliver anticancer drugs, small molecules, and biomolecules. This review will provide an in-depth discussion of the development of SF nanoparticle-based drug delivery systems. (C) 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.