Core-shell nanofibers of poly (epsilon-caprolactone) and Polyvinylpyrrolidone for drug delivery system

Abstract

The core-shell nanofibers from Poly(epsilon-caprolactone) (PCL) and Polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP) with variety in percentage of consisting material at core (PCL or PVP) and shell (PVP: PCL with proportions of 100:0, 50:50, 30:70, 10:90, and 0:100) were electrospun at two different shell flow rates (0.2 and 0.4 ml h(-1)). In the first phase, the properties of samples were studied in terms of viscosity changes of the polymer solutions, morphology, stability of the material structure during production, tensile strength properties, and degradation behavior. In the second phase, drug release percentage was measured through spectroscopy method. Results showed that increasing PVP in the core and shell of the nanofibers increased solution viscosity and fiber diameter and decreased tensile strength of the nanofibers. Also, the degradation behavior of samples was influenced by the amount and the location of PVP. Weight loss percentage of the samples varied from 17 to 71. Also, initial burst release was controlled and reduced with the use of core-shell structure. Finally, it was revealed that by engineering the proportion of polymers in core-shell structure, the release rate of the 5-FU for each target fiber could be adjusted based on diagnosing and treatment protocol.