Surface modified thin film from silk and gelatin for sustained drug release to heal wound

In this study a unique thin film was designed from a silk and gelatin blend which was capable of delivering drug to heal a wound in a rat model. The mechanical properties of the studied film were quite attractive, showing the good strength required for wound-healing applications. The use of a higher content of either silk or gelatin was not advantageous for drug loading or drug-delivery applications. Modification of film using polyethylene glycol (PEG) was quite effective and not only showed better uptake results for wound fluid but also exhibited an excellent in vitro release profile and faster in vivo healing. In addition, results showed that PEG modification was able to reduce the speed of degradation of the film. The initial burst release was extremely high for unmodified films and released more than 60% within the first 8 hours which was significantly reduced by surface modification using PEG. Ciprofloxacin-loaded modified films were able to heal the wound within one week, whereas unmodified films were not able to heal within the same period of time. The in vitro results suggest that the films are very promising for drug-delivery application and PEG modification is very effective for that purpose.