Ofloxacin Loaded Electrospun Fibers for Ocular Drug Delivery: Effect of Formulation Variables on Fiber Morphology and Drug Release.

Ofloxacin (OFL) loaded poly(ε-caprolactone) (PCL) and PCL: poly(butylene succinate) PBS fibers as a drug delivery system in the treatment of ocular infections were prepared by electrospinning. In particular, the effect of some formulation variables including polymer:drug ratio (9:1, 8:2 and 7:3 w/w), solvent systems like dichloromethane (DCM), N,N-dimethylformamide (DMF), N,Ndimethylacetamide (DMAc) and dimethylsulfoxide (DMSO), polymer blends of PCL:PBS at 80:20, 60:40 and 40:60 ratios on fiber morphology, fiber size were investigated. The morphology and diameter of the electrospun fibers were investigated by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) images also the thermal properties were evaluated by differential scanning calorimetry (DSC). The drug release behaviour from fibers and in vitro antibacterial activity were also studied. It was noticed that the average fiber diameter decreased with decreasing polymer amount in initial composition meanwhile the release of drug increased with increasing amount of drug in formulations. Solvent system of DCM:DMF at 80:20 ratio improved fiber morphology and resulted in a reduction in fiber diameter. It was found that smooth surface, flexible fibers with uniform morphology were obtained with 80:20 ratio of PCL:PBS compositions. All fibers showed a burst release of OFL. The initial amount of the released OFL was found to vary as a function of PCL:OFL ratio and polymer composition in the fiber. The microbiological activity of optimized formulation was evaluated using P. aeruginosa, S. epidermidis, S. Aureus and E. coli strains and the results of this study clearly demonstrated that freely released OFL from fibers inhibited the growth of the tested bacteria. The process of electrospinning had no adverse effect on the activity of incorporated drug in fibers.