Effect of pH on polyethylene glycol (PEG)-induced silk microsphere formation for drug delivery

The effects of changing solution pH in the range of 3.6–10.0 during a one-step silk microsphere preparation process, by mixing silk and polyethylene glycol (PEG), was assessed. The microspheres prepared at low pH (3.6) showed a more homogeneous size (1–3   μm) and less porous texture than those prepared at neutral pH. High pH (10.0) inhibited microsphere formation, yielding small and inhomogeneous microspheres. Compared to neutral pH, low pH also increased the content of silk crystalline β-sheet structure from approx. 30% to above 40%. As a result, the microspheres produced at low pH were more thermally stable as well as resistant to chemical (8   M urea) and enzymatic (protease XIV) degradation when compared to microspheres prepared at neutral pH. Doxorubicin hydrochloride (DOX) and curcumin (CUR) were successfully loaded in silk microspheres via control of solution pH. The loading efficiency of DOX was approx. 95% at pH   7.0 and approx. 60% for CUR at pH   3.6, attributed to charge-charge interactions and hydrophobic interactions between the silk and drug molecules, respectively. When PBS, pH   7.4, was used as a medium for release studies, the pH   3.6 microspheres released both drugs more slowly than the pH   7.0 microspheres, likely due to the high content of crystalline β-sheet structure that enhanced drug-silk interactions as well as restricted drug molecule diffusion.