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

Abstract

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.