ABSTRACT
OBJECTIVE To prepare spider fibroin membrane loaded with Periplaneta americana extract， and investigate its characterization， in vitro drug release property and cytotoxicity. METHODS Using natural spider silk collected from Chilobrachys guangxiensis as raw material， P. americana extract as model drug， the drug-loaded spider fibroin membrane （hereinafter referred to as drug-loaded membrane） was prepared by solvent casting method. The material matrix spider fibroin membrane without P. americana extract （hereinafter referred to as blank membrane） was prepared with same method. The membrane structure was characterized by static water contact angle， Fourier infrared chromatography， X-ray diffraction and scanning electron microscopy from different angles； drug release characteristics in artificial saliva were simulated in vitro to evaluate the drug sustained-release performance. MTT assay was adopted to validate the cytotoxicity of drug-loaded membrane. RESULTS The drug-loaded membrane was prepared， and the static water contact angle was less than 90°， which was less than that of blank membrane. The drug-loaded membrane showed the characteristic absorption peak to polypeptide of P. americana extract at 1 500-1 700 cm－1. X-ray diffraction and scanning electron microscopy also proved that the drug was successfully loaded into the pellicle. The release time of the pellicle in artificial saliva was more than 200 min. The MTT test results showed that the cell proliferation rates of blank membrane and drug-loaded membrane were 84.6% and 79.4% （both greater than 70%）， respectively， without significant potential cytotoxicity. CONCLUSIONS Drug-loaded membrane prepared with natural spider silk has a certain sustained-release effect in artificial saliva， which can be further developed as a drug sustained-release carrier with excellent biological characteristics and biocompatibility.