Fabrication of epirubicin loaded core/shell electrospun fibers with effective transdermal sustained-release properties

Epirubicin-loaded polyacrylonitrile nanofibers were fabricated by the low energy water-in-oil emulsion electrospinning technique using the drug solution as the aqueous phase and the N, N- dimethylformamide solution of polyacrylonitrile as the oil phase. Tween 80 as a surfactant was applied to contribute to the formation of the core/shell structure of fibers. The in vitro drug release of these drug-loaded nano fibers obeyed the Korsmeyer-Peppas equation, by exhibiting a good sustained-release performance. In addition, in vitro permeation studies across artificial human skin showed that the prepared nanofibers had effective transdermal sustained-release behavior and the optimum drug cumulative amounts reached 61% in 24 h. The nanofiber membrances exhibited good flexibility and high tensile strength (7.93 MPa), which favors their potential application in transdermal drug delivery. (c) 2021 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Automated summary

Epirubicin-loaded polyacrylonitrile nanofibers were successfully fabricated using low energy water-in-oil emulsion electrospinning technique. The drug-loaded nanofibers showed good sustained-release performance and effective transdermal drug delivery behavior, making them promising for drug delivery applications.