preparation and characterization of antifungal nanofibers using an electrospinning technique as topical drug delivery

Mohadese Gheitasy,1,* Shahla mirzaeei,2 Shiva taghe,3

3. Kermanshah Province, Kermanshah, Beheshti Blvd, Kermanshah University of Medical Sciences, School of Pharmacy

Abstract

Introduction

Natamycin is used to treat fungal infections, including candida, aspergillus, cephalosporium, fusarium, and penicillium. it is applied topically as a cream. natamycin is able to inhibit growth of fungi by inhibiting transport of amino acids and glucose across the plasma membrane. natamycin performs this function by specifically binding to ergosterol and inhibiting membrane transport proteins. various topical drug delivery as hydrogels, nps, nanofibers, in situ gelling system have been proposed for prolonging the release of drugs. electrospun fiber mats can provide sustained release, which reduces the frequency of topical application to increase patient compliance. electrospun fiber mats have high porosity with interconnectivity, which can play a critical role in mass transport. nanofiber meshes are malleable, making them suitable for topical drug delivery applications. fiber mats can be incorporated into wound dressings, as part of a drug-releasing wound treatment technology. in the present study, a sandwich-structured nanofibrous matrix was produced via electrospinning to develop biodegradable and biomimetic drug-eluting dressings. the materials used to prepare the membranes included polycaprolactone (pcl), chitosan (cs), polyvinyl alcohol (pva) and natamycin.

Methods

The pva solution containing 6% (w/v) was prepared in distilled water at 50ºc under magnetic stirring for 4 h. chitosan was dissolved in acetic acid (1% v/v) at room temperature. chitosan/pva nanofiber solutions were obtained upon the addition of 20ml of solution containing 4% (w/v) chitosan to 20ml of solution containing pva with solution containing 6% (w/v) and natamycin solved in mixture under magnetic stirring (1000 rpm) at room temperatures for 12 h. the mixture of solvent (et/ethanol) had previously been used in the electrospinning of (8 %w/v) pcl. preparation of the nanofibers (nat1 formulation) was carried out using a customized electrospraying system. the high voltage supply of 28 kv was applied to the metallic needle, and a cellulose ester membrane was used to collect the electrosprayed samples. nozzle to collector distance was adjusted to 100 mm. all electrospraying procedure was performed at 32ºc. four formulation have been developed in sandwich and mix structure manner. after electrospinning, an elution method and uv spectrophotometrically at λmax of 263nm. assay were employed to characterize the in vitro release rates of the pharmaceutics over a 30-day period.

Results

This study investigated the in vitro release of natamycin from novel electrospun sandwich-structured cs-pva/pcl nanofibrous membranes by using electrospinning technique. the diameters of the nat1 nanofibers ranged from 30 nm to 150 nm and for nat2 from 100 to 300 nm, respectively. the developed formulation possesses very high mucoadhesive strength, thus can be retained for a longer period in the skin. the fabrication of drug-eluting nanofibrous matrices via electrospinning is highly desirable because the core cs/drugs/pva/pcl nanofibrous membrane can provide sustainable release of drug about 30h.

Conclusion

In the present study, we report the first evidence of nat loaded-nanofibers consisting of pva and cs with pcl layer with sandwich and mix structure to enhance its dermal retention, sustain release, high skin availability at reduce dose and dosing frequency.

Keywords

nanofibers, ocular drug delivery, sandwich structure, natamycin.