Dexamethasone encapsulated coaxial electrospun PCL/PEO hollow microfibers for inflammation regulation

Abstract

One of the major challenges in the field of biomaterials is to develop strategies to regulate the innate host inflammatory response. Coaxial electrospun PCL/PEO hollow fibers containing dexamethasone were evaluated for a local delivery of dexamethasone to reduce adverse inflammation responses often resulting from biomaterial implantation. Core–shell PCL/PEO hollow fibers with a highly porous surface were successfully developed using coaxial electrospinning. The release of dexamethasone exhibited a burst release during the first 0.5–3 h followed by a sustained release over more than 12 days. In vitro study showed that the dexamethasone encapsulated coaxial PCL/PEO hollow fibers significantly reduced cell proliferation of LPS-stimulated macrophages and meanwhile significantly decreased the mRNA expression levels of the pro-inflammatory cytokines TNF-α and IL-1β. The dexamethasone encapsulated coaxial PCL/PEO hollow microfibers are promising biomaterials for implantation to combat the acute inflammation responses which take place during first 24–48 h after biomaterial implantation and meanwhile to regulate possible hostile chronic inflammations, thus increasing the efficacy and longevity of the implants in vivo.