Efficient drug delivery vehicles of environmentally benign nano-fibers comprising bioactive glass/chitosan/polyvinyl alcohol composites

ABSTR A C T Nano-fiber composites have shown promising potential in biomedical and biotechnological applications. Herein, novel nano-fiber composites constituting a blend of polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) and chitosan (CS) along with differ-ent weight ratios of nano-bioactive glass (BG) were prepared by electrospinning. Nano-fibers incorporating 10% (by wt.) of BG were uniform, dense and defect-free with a diameter of 20-125 nm. The model osteoporotic drug (Risedronate sodium) was blended with the electrospinning forming solution and the in-vitro drug release was further studied. About 30% of the drug was released after only 30 min and the release pattern was sustained over 96 h. Drug release took place through a two-stage intra-particle diffusion mechanism. BG-incorporated nano-fibers markedly retarded the drug release profile relative to their BG-free counterparts. They also enhanced the drug release efficiency by releasing 93 +/- 4% of the drug. The developed nano-fiber composites can be poten-tially used as drug-delivery vehicles due to their efficiency and sustained drug release capacity. (c) 2021 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Automated summary

Nano-fiber composites consisting of a blend of polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) and chitosan (CS) with different weight ratios of nano-bioactive glass (BG) were prepared by electrospinning. The drug release efficiency of the developed nano-fiber composites with BG was enhanced and sustained, with the release pattern taking place through a two-stage intra-particle diffusion mechanism. The presence of BG in the nano-fibers significantly retarded the drug release profile compared to their BG-free counterparts.