Silk Based Biopolymer Drug Delivery Systems

Silk represents an excellent source of natural biomaterials, and silk-based biopolymers have been used in numerous drug delivery applications. Silk has a proven track record in biomedicine owing to its superior compatibility with the human body, its superb mechanical characteristics, and its controllable propensity to decay. Due to its robust biocompatibility and its less immunogenic, non-toxic, non-carcinogenic, and biodegradable properties, silk has been widely used in biological and biomedical fields, proving to be a more efficient manner for the treatment of various diseases. This book presents a comprehensive review of silk-based biopolymer drug delivery systems, providing an introduction and going on to detail the chemistry, collection, characterization, functionalization, and numerous silk-based applications in the pharmaceutical industry and healthcare fields. It discusses its uses for oral drug delivery, for vaccine delivery systems, as natural mucoadhesive polymers for controlled drug delivery, for wound healing, etc. Exploring the many promising applications of silk-based proteins in the field of drugs and gene delivery and biomedical applications, the book emphasizes recent advancements made by academicians, researchers, and industry and regulatory scientists. It provides methodologies for the design, development, and selection of silk-based proteins in drug delivery for therapeutic applications.