Development of silk fibroin-derived nanofibrous drug delivery system in supercritical CO2

A silk fibroin (SF)-derived nanofibrous drug delivery system was fabricated by solution-enhanced dispersion via supercritical CO2 (SEDS) (20 MPa pressure, 8 mL/min flow rate, 35 degrees C temperature) in this study. Curcumin (CM) was used as a water-insoluble drug model. Nanofibrous structure with controllable fiber diameter (< 100 nm) was obtained, and inter-molecular hydrogen bonds were formed between CM and SF; the crystallinity of the incorporated CM was remarkably decreased, which led to a significant enhancement in solubility of incorporated CM. In conclusion, SEDS could be developed to fabricate polymeric nanofibrous drug delivery system. (C) 2016 Published by Elsevier B.V.