Drug release rate and kinetic investigation of composite polymeric nanofibers

Objective(s): In this work, electrospun nanofibers were explored as drug delivery vehicles using tetracycline as a model drug.  Nanocomposite fibers including chitosan (CS)/poly (ethylene oxide) (PEO) and antibiotic were successfully prepared using electrospinning. CS blended with PEO considering a weight ratio of (90/10), and then, nanofibrous samples were successfully electrospun from their aqueous solutions. Afterwards, tetracycline was added to these samples for producing wound dressing materials. Methods: Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) were used for the evaluation of morphology and biodegradability studies of CS/PEO blend nanofibrous. The kinetic and drug release mechanism of drug-loaded electrospun samples were also investigated by ultraviolet-visible spectrophotometry (UV-Vis) and the appropriate model was proposed for prediction of drug release. Results: The results have indicated that the addition of tetracycline as much as 0.4%wt brings about the best nanofiber. The results of stability study of composite nanofibrous showed that the samples containing the active ingredient of tetracycline have maintained their structure after 24 h in the vicinity of acetate buffer solution. The model of antibiotic release from the nanofiber was examined and it was found that the release mechanism can be described as Fickian diffusion model. According to this model, the kinetic degree of the drug release is around 0.41. Conclusions: The study of drug release from this nanofiber showed that the liberation level is relatively high during the early hours and over time, high amounts of the drug diffuse from the inside of nanofiber into the aqueous environment.