Relating Advanced Electrospun Fiber Architectures to the Temporal Release of Active Agents to Meet the Needs of Next-Generation Intravaginal Delivery Applications

Abstract

Electrospun fibers have emerged as a relatively new delivery platform to improve active agent retention and delivery for intravaginal applications. While uniaxial fibers have been explored in a variety of applications including intravaginal delivery, the consideration of more advanced fiber architectures may offer new options to improve delivery to the female reproductive tract. In this review, we summarize the advancements of electrospun coaxial, multilayered, and nanoparticle-fiber architectures utilized in other applications and discuss how different material combinations within these architectures provide varied durations of release, here categorized as either transient (within 24 h), short-term (24 h to one week), or sustained (beyond one week). We seek to systematically relate material type and fiber architecture to active agent release kinetics. Last, we explore how lessons derived from these architectures may be applied to address the needs of future intravaginal delivery platforms for a given prophylactic or therapeutic application. The overall goal of this review is to provide a summary of different fiber architectures that have been useful for active agent delivery and to provide guidelines for the development of new formulations that exhibit release kinetics relevant to the time frames and the diversity of active agents needed in next-generation multipurpose applications.

pH-Responsive Electrospun Nanofibers and Their Applications

“…Intravaginal delivery E-spun pH-responsive fibers have demonstrated promise for intravaginal applications, with the potential to conserve the active agents until release is needed as recently reviewed by the group of Steinbach-Rankins. [183] pH-responsive fiber materials are ideal candidates for the delivery and triggered release of for example acid-labile therapeutic agents against sexually transmitted infections with sustained protection against Herpes Simplex Virus 2 (HSV-2) and Human Immunodeficiency Virus 1 (HIV-1) infections. While nowadays only topical delivery platforms are provided, such as gels and films, the main drawback of such systems is their transient release requiring frequent application.…”

Scale‐up of electrospinning technology: Applications in the pharmaceutical industry

“…With an appropriate shell polymer, the amorphous drug encapsulated in the core can be protected from humidity, light, heat, and oxygen (Yu et al, 2018). For more information on the utilization of multilayer ASDs in the pharmaceutical field, the reader is directed to the following review articles (Aytac & Uyar, 2018;Khalf & Madihally, 2017;Lu et al, 2016;Senthamizhan, Balusamy, & Uyar, 2017;Tyo et al, 2019;Yu et al, 2018).…”

Multilayered Polyurethane/Poly(vinyl alcohol) Nanofibrous Mats for Local Topotecan Delivery as a Potential Retinoblastoma Treatment

“…A fundamental aspect in the development of a suitable nanofibrous DDS is optimization of the design, composition, and morphology of the carrier in relation to the drug character and, above all, the setting of the drug release profile according to the therapeutic requirements. To control drug release kinetics, considering more advanced fibrous architectures, such as core–shell fibers, fibers filled with drug-loaded nanoparticles, or multilayered structures, is in the forefront of interest [ 8 , 9 , 10 , 11 ]. The challenge of prolonged drug release is most obvious in the case of hydrophilic drugs, as their incorporation into a simple nanofibrous monolayer mostly results in undesired rapid release (burst release) into the aqueous environment [ 12 ].…”