Processing of polymer nanofibers through electrospinning as drug delivery systems

Abstract

The use of electrospun fibers as drug carriers could be promising in the future for biomedical applications, especially postoperative local chemotherapy. In this research work, electrospun fibers were developed as a new system for the delivery of ketoprofen as non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug (NSAID). The fibers were made either from polycaprolactone (PCL) as a biodegradable polymer or polyurethane (PU) as a non-biodegradable polymer, or from the blends of the two. The release of the ketoprofen was followed by UV–vis spectroscopy in phosphate buffer of pH 7.4 at 37 and 20 °C. The results showed that the release rates from the polycaprolactone, polyurethane and their blend are similar. However, the blend of the polycaprolactone with polyurethane improved its visual mechanical properties. Release profiles from the electrospun mats were compared to cast films of the various formulations. Keywords: Electrospinning; Polycaprolactone; Polyurethane; Drug delivery; Ketoprofen