Fabrication of electrospun ibuprofen-loaded poly(vinyl alcohol)/hyper-branched poly(ethylenimine) fibers and their release behaviors.

A novel transdermal drug delivery system for the release of ibuprofen (IBU) was fabricated via poly(vinyl alcohol)/hyper-branched poly(ethylene imine) (PVA/PEI) nanofibrous membranes. Hence, PVA/PEI solutions were electrospun at different PVA/PEI mass ratios of 100/0, 85/15, 75/25, and 65/35. SEM observations illustrated that the diameters of collected fibers to be 125-161 nm. Fourier-transform infrared and differential scanning calorimetric characterizations were used to examine microstructural changes of fibers. In vitro drug release revealed that the amount of drug loaded in PVA/PEI fibers increased by enhancing PEI content due to abundant amine terminated groups as well as hollow interior between branches. The maximum concentration of released drug equal to 130.69 mg/L was achieved for PVA/PEI (75/25) fibers, which is about 2.5 times higher than drug-loaded PVA fibers. An increase of 34% in drug release characteristic of fibrous structure comparing with as-cast film was also obtained at 24 h of immersion time. The decreased release rate of IBU was shown for drug-loaded PVA and PVA/PEI fibers heat-treated at 140 °C and 120 °C, respectively. By assessing drug release mechanism through so-called Peppas kinetic model, it was found that heat treatment changed release mechanism from swelling-controlled to diffusion-controlled for drug-loaded PVA/PEI fibers. Overall, IBU-loaded PVA/PEI fibrous membrane presents a substantial potential for drug delivery systems with anti-inflammation and analgesic-eluting applications.