PERIODONTICS
Cite this article:
Virlan MJR, Calenic B ,
Zaharia C , Greabu M.
Silk fibroin and potential
uses in regenerative Dental
Medicine.
Stoma Edu J. 2014;1(2):
108-115.
SILK FIBROIN AND POTENTIAL
USES IN REGENERATIVE DENTISTRY A SYSTEMATIC REVIEW
Maria Justina Roxana Virlan1a,
Bogdan Calenic1b,
Catalin Zaharia 2c,
Maria Greabu1d*
1. Department of Biochemistry, Faculty of Dental
Medicine, „Carol Davila” University of Medicine
and Pharmacy, Bucharest, Romania
2. Advanced Polymer Materials Group, Faculty
of Applied Chemistry and Materials Science,
University Politehnica of Bucharest, Bucharest,
Romania
a.DDS, PhD Student
b.DDS, PhD, Teaching Assistant
c.PhD, Associate Professor
d.PhD, Professor, Head of Department
Abstract
Silk fibroin is an organic polymer isolated from cocoon silk fibers. Recently
it has been studied as a substrate for tissue engineered cartilage, bone ,
ligaments, nerves, cornea and also for drug delivery applications. The current
review focuses on recent advance in silk fibroin and its potential uses in
regeneration therapies, mainly in the dental field. Data extraction was carried
out according to the standard Cochrane systematic review methodology and
the following databases were used: PubMed, Google Scholar, Medline and the
Google library. Out of the 151 related articles that were critically assessed, only
57 articles were included in the critical appraisal. There is evidence that silk
fibroin is a biocompatible polymer and has been proved to be cytocompatible
with a wide variety of cells. Composite silk fibroin with hydoxyapaptite, bioglass,
gold or silica can be used in a variety of applications. Regenerative dentistry
may profit from the silk fibroin due to possible future uses in implant therapy,
mineralized tissue formation or healing of the wounds of the buccal mucosa.
Keywords: silk fibroin, organic polymer, bone regeneration, drug delivery,
wound healing
1.Silk fibroin
Received: 05 September 2014
Accepted: 18 September 2014
* Corresponding author:
Professor Maria Greabu,
PhD, Head of Department
Department of Biochemistry, Faculty of Dental
Medicine, „Carol Davila” University of Medicine
and Pharmacy, Bucharest, Romania
8 Blvd. Eroii Sanitari, Sector 5, RO-050474
Bucharest, Romania
Tel: +40721274932, Fax: +4021 3110984.
e-mail: [email protected]
108
Silk represents the strongest and toughest naturally occuring polymer material (1) . Silk
from silkworms and orb-weaving spiders have impressive mechanical properties in addition
to environmental stability, biocompatibility, controlled proteolytic biodegradability,
morphological flexibility and the ability for the aminoacid side charge modification to
immobilize growth factors (2). Silk fibroin is a structural protein isolated from cocoons
silk fibers of the silkworm Bobymex mori (2, 3) and it has a long history of use in clinical
applications as sutures (2). Recently it has also been studied as a substrate for tissue
engineered cartilage, bone (4), (5), (6), ligaments and also for drug delivery applications
(7), (8-10).
1.1.Silk fibroin in drug delivery vehicles
A wide range of polymeric materials have been investigated for use as drug delivery
matrices, including biodegradable synthetic polymers such as PLGA, and natural polymers
like collagen (3). The addition of silk seemed to improve the controlled release proprieties.
It was shown, that the more the crystalline content of silk increased ,the slower was the
release of the encapsulated protein (7). Other strategies to fine-tune the release from silk
fibroin matrices include the embedment of drug loaded micro- or nanoparticles or the
coating of micro- or nanoparticles with silk fibroin films (11). Also silk coating of liposomes
loaded with the anti-tumor drug Emodin significantly retarded drug release without
affecting the drug efficacy (9). Moreover silk microspheres could offer unique options as
drug delivery carriers,given the fact that silk microspheres are much smaller than PLGA
microspheres (3).
1.2 Silk fibroin scaffolds
Mimicking the natural extracellular matrix is one of the critical and challenging
technological barriers, for which scaffold engineering has become a prime focus of research
STOMA.EDUJ (2014) 1 (2)