Vortex-induced silk fibroin gelation for encapsulation and delivery

A method of delivering a reversibly shear-thinned silk fibroin gel to a target site, comprising:

• vortexing a silk fibroin solution for a sufficient period of time to initiate gelation, wherein the silk fibroin undergoes substantial gelation after the vortex treatment to form a silk fibroin gel;
• introducing the silk fibroin gel through a shear-inducing delivery device to the target site while applying a shear force to shear-thin the silk fibroin gel;
• and
• removing the shear force, whereupon the shear-thinned silk fibroin gel recovers from shear-thinning and re-gels.

A method for homogeneous delivery of at least one active agent to a target site, comprising:

• vortexing a silk fibroin solution for a sufficient period of time to initiate gelation;
• introducing at least one active agent to the silk fibroin solution either before vortexing or before substantial gelation occurs in the silk fibroin solution, thereby forming a silk fibroin gel-encapsulated active agent that may be shear-thinned reversibly;
• introducing to the target site the active agent-encapsulated silk fibroin gel through a shear-inducing delivery device to the target site while applying a shear force to shear-thin the agent-encapsulated silk fibroin gel;
• and
• removing the shear force, whereupon the shear-thinned silk fibroin gel-encapsulated agent recovers gel form, thereby distributing the active agent in the gel form at the target site homogeneously.