Sustained release of drug loaded nanofibers for wound dressing applications

Abstract

Global burden of chronic wounds has increased drasticallyas they are vulnerable to bacterial infections that causes inflammation, thereby leads to a delay in the healing process. Furthermore, wound care and dressing industry is subjected to a global market of $30.4 billion by 2024. Our work entails fabrication of polymeric electrospun nanofibers loaded with different concentration of the amoxicillin (AMX) antibiotic. Biodegradable and biocompatible poly (vinyl) alcohol (PVA)/poly(meth)(methacrylate)(PMMA) polymerswere blended with different AMX concentration (100, 150, 200 and 250 mg) and fabricated by electrospinning technique. Morphology, structural properties and drug release from electrospun nanofibers depend on the different concentrations of drug incorporated in PVA:PMMA blend of polymer. Furthermore, these studies revealed drug-excipient compatibility and drug encapsulation within the nanofiber. In-vitro release study showed the AMX release time from PVA: PMMA: AMX was extended up to 7 days for AMX-250 with an initial burst release of 70% and further sustained drug release. Electrospun nanofibers of PVA:PMMA:AMX showed greater zone of inhibition of S. aureus as 2.1±0.4 cm for 100-AMX, 2.3±0.5 cm for 150-AMX, 2.4±0.1 for 200-AMX and 3.4±0.3 cm for 250-AMX. These results demonstrate that AMX retains the anti-bacterial activity and hence can be used as a potential wound dressing candidate.