CHAPTER 6. Silk-sericin Nano-drug Delivery Systems

The excellent biocompatibility, controllable biodegradability, non-immunogenicity and intrinsic biological activity, make silk sericin an ideal candidate for the formulation of drug delivery systems. Unfortunately, nanoparticles, nanocapsules or nanofibers based on silk sericin “alone” cannot be produced due to its physicochemical instability, influenced by the high water solubility. For this reason, cross-linking, blending, or combination with other polymers/compounds is required. This chapter provides an overview of the main preparation methods of sericin-based nanoparticles and nanofibers, as reported in the literature. Their applications, both in vitro and in vivo, are also described.