In Vitro Interaction of Doxorubicin-Loaded Silk Sericin Nanocarriers with MCF-7 Breast Cancer Cells Leads to DNA Damage.

In this paper, Bombyx mori silk sericin nanocarriers with a very low size range were obtained by nanoprecipitation. Sericin nanoparticles were loaded with doxorubicin, and they were considered a promising tool for breast cancer therapy. The chemistry, structure, morphology, and size distribution of nanocarriers were investigated by Fourier transformed infrared spectroscopy (FTIR-ATR), scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM), and dynamic light scattering (DLS). Morphological investigation and DLS showed the formation of sericin nanoparticles in the 25-40 nm range. FTIR chemical characterization showed specific interactions of protein-doxorubicin-enzymes with a high influence on the drug delivery process and release behavior. The biological investigation via breast cancer cell line revealed a high activity of nanocarriers in cancer cells by inducing significant DNA damage.