Dual drug release nanocomposites prepared using a combination of electrospraying and electrospinning

Abstract

In this paper we demonstrate for the first time that structural nanocomposites providing dual drug release can be generated using a combination of electrospraying and electrospinning. Ketoprofen (KET) was used as a model drug, and polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP) and Eudragit1 L100-55 (EL100) respectively taken as the sheath and core matrices to prepare the nanofibers. Scanning and transmission electron microscope observations demonstrated that the nanofibers had smooth surfaces and cross-sections, and distinct coresheath nanostructures. They also had relatively uniform diameters of 0.64 ¡ 0.21 mm. Differential scanning calorimetry and X-ray diffraction results indicated that the nanofibers contained KET homogeneously distributed in both the sheath and core parts of the fibers. IR spectra indicated that this molecular dispersion was likely to be a result of hydrogen bonding between the components. In vitro dissolution tests showed that the core-sheath fibers provided dual drug release profiles with an immediate release of 35.1% in acidic solutions and sustained release of 62.2% in a pH 6.8 phosphate buffer. The strategy developed here significantly expands the applications of electrohydrodynamic atomization processes in producing novel structural nanocomposites for complex and time-programmed drug release profiles.

Nanofibrous solid dosage form of living bacteria prepared by electrospinning

“…Here, the concept of electrospun living bacteria solid dosage forms containing living bacteria was put forward using a single fluid electrospinning of Nagy et al -eXPRESS Polymer Letters Vol.8, No.5 (2014) suspensions. Coaxial electrospinning [47][48][49] could further expand this concept owing to its capability to manipulate nanostructure.…”

Electrospun pH-sensitive core–shell polymer nanocomposites fabricated using a tri-axial process

“…These include not only 126 core-shell fibers [34,35], but also fibers prepared from materials without 127 filament-forming properties [36] and used as templates for creating nanotubes (from 128 the fiber as a whole) or the "bottom-up" generation of NPs (self-assembled from the 129 components loaded in the fibers) [26,37]. For biomedical applications, core-shell 130 nanofibers proffer a series of new possibilities; for instance, it is possible to protect a 131 fragile active ingredient such as a protein from the stresses of the electrospinning 132 processes by confining it to the core, or to vary the APIs concentration in the core and 133 shell to achieve complex drug release profiles [38][39][40][41]. In the traditional coaxial 134 process the sheath working fluid must be electrospinnable, but a modified process in 135 which one can utilize unspinnable liquids as the sheath fluid is also possible.…”

Structure-tunable Janus fibers fabricated using spinnerets with varying port angles

“…As expected, the two dyes existed in their polymer matrices in an amorphous state (ESI †), suggesting that the side-by-side electrospinning processes described here can be exploited for the preparation of Janus structural composites, which are popular for designing new functional materials. 23 Particularly, the amorphous status is highly desirable for improving the dissolution of poorly water soluble drugs (one of the most difficult challenges in pharmaceutics), [24][25][26] and thus the present processes should provide a new platform for developing drug delivery systems for combined therapy from poorly water soluble active pharmaceutical ingredients. Moreover, these tunable Janus fiber structures should have good potential applications for fibrous guided tissue regeneration membranes because not only multiple functional ingredients such as anti-inflammatory agents, adhesive components for cell attachment and even nutritional ingredients can be loaded in them, but also one side can be managed to degrade to make way for proliferating cells.…”