A mathematical model for predicting controlled release of bioactive agents from composite fiber structures.

A mathematical model for predicting bioactive agent release profiles from core/shell fiber structures was developed and studied. These new composite fibers, which combine good mechanical properties with desired protein release profiles, are designed for use in tissue regeneration and other biomedical applications. These fibers are composed of an inner dense polymeric core surrounded by a porous bioresorbable shell, which encapsulates the bioactive agent molecules. The model is based on Fick's second law of diffusion, and on two major assumptions: (a) first-order degradation kinetics of the porous shell, and (b) a nonconstant diffusion coefficient for the bioactive agent, which increases with time because of degradation of the host polymer. Three factors are evaluated and included in this model: a porosity factor, a tortuosity factor, and a polymer concentration factor. Our study indicates that the model correlates well with in vitro release results, exhibiting a mean error of less than 2.2% for most studied cases. In this study, the model was used for predicting protein release profiles from fibers with shells of various initial molecular weights and for predicting the release of proteins with various molecular weights. This new model exhibits a potential for simulating fibrous systems for a wide variety of biomedical applications.