School of Materials and Chemistry, University of Shanghai for Science & Technology, Shanghai 200093, China.
Shanghai Engineering Technology Research Center for High-Performance Medical Device Materials, Shanghai 200093, China.
Biomolecules. 2022 Jul 29;12(8):1057. doi: 10.3390/biom12081057.
The inefficient use of water-insoluble drugs is a major challenge in drug delivery systems. Core-sheath fibers with various shell thicknesses based on cellulose acetate (CA) were prepared by the modified triaxial electrospinning for the controlled and sustained release of the water-insoluble Chinese herbal active ingredient curcumin. The superficial morphology and internal structure of core-sheath fibers were optimized by increasing the flow rate of the middle working fluid. Although the prepared fibers were hydrophobic initially, the core-sheath structure endowed fibers with better water retention property than monolithic fibers. Core-sheath fibers had flatter sustained-release profiles than monolithic fibers, especially for thick shell layers, which had almost zero-order release for almost 60 h. The shell thickness and sustained release of drugs brought about a good antibacterial effect to materials. The control of flow rate during fiber preparation is directly related to the shell thickness of core-sheath fibers, and the shell thickness directly affects the controlled release of drugs. The fiber preparation strategy for the precise control of core-sheath structure in this work has remarkable potential for modifying water-insoluble drug release and improving its antibacterial performance.
水不溶性药物的低效利用是药物输送系统的主要挑战。通过改进的三轴静电纺丝技术，制备了具有不同壳层厚度的基于醋酸纤维素（CA）的核壳纤维，以控制和持续释放水不溶性中草药活性成分姜黄素。通过增加中间工作流体的流速，优化了核壳纤维的表面形貌和内部结构。尽管最初制备的纤维是疏水性的，但核壳结构赋予纤维比整体纤维更好的保水性能。核壳纤维的持续释放曲线比整体纤维更平坦，特别是对于较厚的壳层，其几乎呈零级释放，持续近 60 小时。药物的壳层厚度和持续释放带来了良好的抗菌效果。纤维制备过程中流速的控制直接关系到核壳纤维的壳层厚度，而壳层厚度直接影响药物的控制释放。本工作中用于精确控制核壳结构的纤维制备策略在调节水不溶性药物释放和提高其抗菌性能方面具有显著的潜力。
