Electrospinning of poly (ethylene oxide)/alginate nanofibers containing estradiol/beta-cyclodextrin complex

Abstract

Alginate is a polymer widely used in drug delivery field in the form of micro/nanoparticles. This work presents the new technique for preparation of alginate as nanofiber and its pharmaceutical application as a transdermal hormone drug delivery system using estradiol as a model drug. These can be archived by electrospinning the blend of alginate/poly (ethylene oxide) (PEO)/β-cyclodextrin (β-CD) by using PEO to decrease the repulsive force of alginate and using β-CD to increase the compatibility of hydrophobic drug with the hydrophilic polymer system. The electrospinning parameters for preparation the well-formed nanofibers including solution concentration, mass ratio of polymers, applied voltage, flow rate and working distance were investigated. The morphology and size of nanofiber were investigated by Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM) and the physical properties were investigated by Fourier transformed infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR) and X-rays Diffractometer The well-formed nanofibers PEO/Alg/β-CD with the diameter size less than 200 nm were successively prepared from 2:1:2 (w/w/w) of PEO/Alg/β-CD at 20 kV, 18 cm, 1.3 ml/hr. To investigate the possibility of PEO/Alg/β-CD nanofibers as transdermal estradiol delivery systems, the estradiol were formed an inclusion complex with β-CD before added to the polymer blend. The encapsulation efficiency and in vitro release behavior were investigated by UV spectophotometer. The high entrapment efficiency of 93% of estradiol was obtained from the nanofibers containing 1:1 mole ratio of estradiol/β-CD complex. The estradiol loaded nanofiber could be sustained released the drug within 7 days in 25% (v/v) ethanol/phosphate buffered saline (pH 7.4) at 37°C. The permeation study of estradiol through cellulose acetate membrane as a simulated skin (Franz’s cell) provided controlled release for 7 days with flux of 10.431 µg/cm2.day.