Silk-Based Protein Drug Delivery Systems in Cancer Therapy

Silk is a common biomaterial with distinctive features, including its capacity to produce a wide range of morphological shapes. Drugs can be delivered locally and systemically via films, scaffolds, hydrogels, foams, fibers, capsules, microneedles, and spheres, among other materials. Many silk-based drug delivery systems are now being employed in cancer. Nevertheless, the inimitable properties of silk, together with the ability to extra modify and blend it, open the door to a wide range of therapeutic applications, not just in oncology. Nanoparticle (NP)-encapsulated proteins derived from silkworm cocoons (such as sericins and silk fibroin) and silk proteins derived from spiders (spidroins) are being extensively researched in domains such as oncology. This naturally derived material is biocompatible, biodegradable, and simple to manufacture. Chemotherapeutics, natural medications, inor- ganic compounds, nucleic acid-based treatments, proteins or peptides, and photosensitive molecules are delivered using NPs.