pH-responsive nanofiber membranes for superior controlled release of poorly water-soluble drug and its release mechanism study

Abstract

Antibiotics delivery using dressings is an effective manner to treat chronic infected wounds, but it still faces the challenge of uncontrolled drug release. To address this issue, we developed pH-responsive electrospun nanofibers for controlled release of poorly water-soluble antibiotics. Specifically, the drug-loaded electrospun nanofibers were fabricated via coaxial electrospinning technique, with polycaprolactone (PCL) and drug acting as the core and pH-responsive acrylic copolymer Eudragit L100–55 serving as the sheath layer. Under alkaline conditions, all drugs release rapidly due to the dissolution of Eudragit L100–55, and first-order model well fits the release behavior. In contrast, the sheath layer swells under acidic conditions, causing poorly water-soluble drugs to be firmly trapped. Moreover, the drug-loaded nanofibers display completely different antibacterial activities due to distinct drug release behaviors under alkaline or acidic conditions. The current pH-responsive nanofibers shows superior controllability of poorly water-soluble drug release, revealing great prospects for treating chronic infected wounds.