Tunable drug release from nanofibers coated with blank cellulose acetate layers fabricated using tri-axial electrospinning

Abstract

In this study, novel core-shell nanostructures were fabricated through a modified triaxial electrospinning process. These comprised a drug-protein nanocomposite coated with a thin cellulose acetate (CA) shell. They were generated through the simultaneous treatment of an outer solvent, an unelectrospinnable middle fluid, and an electrospinnable core solution in triaxial electrospinning. SEM and TEM results revealed that the core-shell nanofibers had linear and cylindrical morphologies with a diameter from 0.66 to 0.87 μm, and distinct core-shell structures with a shell thickness from 1.8 to 11.6 nm. The presence of a CA coating eliminated the initial burst release of ibuprofen seen from a monolithic drug-protein composite, and allowed us to precisely manipulate the drug release (for a 90% percentage) over a time period from 23.5 to 43.9 h in a tunable manner. Mathematical relationships between the processing conditions, the nanostructures produced, and their functional performance were elucidated.