Development of Thai Silk Fibroin/Hyaluronic Acid Microspheres and the Application on Controlled Release of Curcumin

Abstract

The aim of this study was to develop microspheres from Thai silk fibroin (SF) blended with hyaluronic acid (HA) for controlled release application. HA was introduced to blend with SF to enhance properties of the microspheres. The SF-based microspheres could be prepared by water in oil emulsion and glutaraldehyde crosslinking technique. The obtained microspheres contained 71 - 91% SF and 9 - 29% HA. The microspheres having higher SF content showed more stability and slower degradation rate. Then, to prove the potential of SFHA microspheres as carriers for drug delivery, curcumin was absorbed in the microspheres. All microspheres released curcumin in a controllable manner, possibly due to the hydrophobic interaction between curcumin and crystalline domain of SF. Furthermore, it was shown that HA was self-released from the microspheres. The GA-crosslinked SFHA microspheres that simultaneously and controlled released curcumin and HA could be further developed and applied as injectable drug delivery system for treatment of diseases e.g. arthritis.