ORIGINAL RESEARCH article
Front. Bioeng. Biotechnol.
Sec. Biomaterials
Volume 13 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fbioe.2025.1643800
This article is part of the Research TopicMulti-Modal Imaging and Natural Products Nanomedicine Platform for Advancing Imaging-Guided Diagnosis and TherapeuticsView all articles
Preparation and Characterization of a GSH-Responsive Drug-Loaded Polymer Nanoparticle/Silk Fibroin Composite Hydrogel
Provisionally accepted
Yanjiu Li
Rong Li*- Donghua University, Shanghai, China
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This study addressed the poor water solubility and low bioavailability of curcumin (CUR), along with the inadequate stability of existing nano-delivery systems. A composite delivery system (GEL-PNES-CUR) combining a glutathione (GSH)responsive drug-loaded polymeric nanoparticle (NP@PNES-CUR) with a silk fibroin hydrogel (SF-GEL) was constructed.Firstly, SF-GEL was prepared using the HRP/H2O2 system. A three-dimensional porous network structure was imparted to SF-GEL through enzymatic cross-linking. SF-GEL exhibited injectability, making it suitable for minimally invasive therapy, combined with a high swelling ratio (546%) and excellent rheological properties (storage modulus G' reaching 10,000 Pa). Secondly, a GSH-sensitive polymer (PNES) was designed and synthesized. Rigid bipyridyl groups were introduced into the PNES backbone to enhance π-π stacking interactions.
Keywords: GSH-responsive nanoparticles, Silk fibroin hydrogel, curcumin delivery, Composite hydrogel system, Microenvironment-responsive drug release
Received: 09 Jun 2025; Accepted: 24 Jun 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Li and Li. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence: Rong Li, Donghua University, Shanghai, China
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