Nanofiber Carriers of Therapeutic Load: Current Trends

Abstract

The fast advancement in nanotechnology has prompted the improvement of numerous methods for the creation of various nanoscale composites of which nanofibers have gotten extensive consideration. Nanofibers are polymeric/composite fibers which have a nanoscale diameter. They vary in porous structure and have an extensive area. Material choice is of crucial importance for the assembly of nanofibers and their function as efficient drug and biomedicine carriers. A broad scope of active pharmaceutical ingredients can be incorporated within the nanofibers or bound to their surface. The ability to deliver small molecular drugs such as antibiotics or anticancer medications, proteins, peptides, cells, DNA and RNAs has led to the biomedical application in disease therapy and tissue engineering. Although nanofibers have shown incredible potential for drug and biomedicine applications, there are still difficulties which should be resolved before they can be utilized in clinical practice. This review intends to give an outline of the recent advances in nanofibers, contemplating the preparation methods, the therapeutic loading and release and the various therapeutic applications.

Smart dental materials for antimicrobial applications

“…Other carriers for antibacterial agents in the nano-space have been studied [ 83 , 84 ], including dendrimers [ 85 ], nanocapsules [ 86 ], core shells [ 87 ], liposomes [ 88 ], micelles [ 89 ], and nanofibers [ 90 ]. Due to their large contact surface, nanofibers are used as high-loading carriers [ 91 ], while micelles are preferred due to their easy manipulation and encapsulation of the agent [ 92 ]. The advantages of these nano-carriers are the improved control of agent release, pharmacokinetics (in the case of antibiotics), increased agent selectivity, and thus, treatment effectiveness [ 83 , 93 ].…”

Mesoporous silica nanoparticles accommodating electrospun nanofibers as implantable local drug delivery system processed by cold atmospheric plasma and spin coating approaches

“…But, to the best of our knowledge, this is the first time drug-loaded mesoporous silica nanoparticles (MSN) were accommodated on NF by CAP-assisted spin coating. Other than the post-processing methods on NF matrices employed for accommodating the drug content, the physicochemical characteristics of polymers together with processing parameters and NF/matrix degradation features have impacts on the drug release from NF; consequently, these lead us to investigate the diversified release profiles of the our designed LDDS [40]. These facts need to be taken into consideration; the major challenge is especially once poorly water-soluble drugs are needed to be accommodated into synthetic NF-based LDDS such as PCL.…”

“…Various approaches exist to circumvent poor water solubility and dissolution rates in an aqueous environment; however, each has disadvantages and particular limitations [42]. Researchers have circumvented the poor water solubility and poor dissolution rate of APIs in the synthetic polymer NF by blending polymer solutions with API; however, dissimilarities in physicochemical properties such as solubility or degradation tendency hamper the manufacturing process [40]. On the other hand, coaxial electrospinning may interrupt loading stability, the functionality of particularly biologic agents, and fiber consistency [43].…”

“…On the other hand, coaxial electrospinning may interrupt loading stability, the functionality of particularly biologic agents, and fiber consistency [43]. Alternatively, the high surface area and porous structure of NF as an adsorbent substrate are known to endure the accommodation of therapeutic agents by weak non-covalent interactions, which usually burst drug release from the NF surface [40]. Another alternative approach could be the incorporation of API after loading into nanoparticles taken for accommodating into or onto NF mats in order to prolong the drug release profiles [6,36,44].…”

Development of Polyvinyl Alcohol (PVA) Nanofibers Containing Cationic Lipid/siRNA Complexes via Electrospinning: The Impact of PVA Characterization

“…Polymer nanofibers produced by electrospinning are suitable for transdermal treatment systems and fabricating wound dressing materials [11,12]. Moreover, there have been numerous reports on their applicability in site-specific drug release in the gastrointestinal tract via oral administration, mucosal vaccines for sublingual application, and localized drug therapy in mucosal tissues such as the eyes, lungs, and vagina [13][14][15][16][17][18]. The development of nucleic acid pharmaceuticals incorporated into these polymer matrix nanofibers is anticipated.…”