Centrifugally spun ultrafine starch/PEO fibres as release formulation for poorly water-soluble drugs

In this work, the authors prepared drug-loaded ultrafine starch/polyethylene oxide (PEO) fibres through centrifugal spinning, which use the poorly water-soluble drugs ibuprofen (ibu) and ketoprofen (ket) as model drugs. The obtained fibres were treated by acetic acid/glutaraldehyde solution (1/1, v/v) for 12 h at 40°C, in order to remove residual sodium hydroxide in fibres and improve the water stability. The morphology, chemical structures, and mechanical properties of obtained fibres were investigated. In-vitro drug release tests revealed that more than 75% of loaded drugs could be released from fibrous membranes without initial burst release (>80% in the first 2 h). The ibu-loaded fibrous membranes showed a sustained release period as long as 24 h, while the ket-loaded fibrous membranes could release more than 48 h. These fibre-based delivery systems are therefore proposed to be good candidate drug formulations, especially for improving solubility and bioavailability of poorly water-soluble drugs.