Controlled drug delivery to the body can be achieved using dressings made of electrospun mats, composed of polymer fibers combined with a suitable therapeutic agent. The inset shows a microscopic image of polymer fibers containing the antibacterial agent metronidazole. (Credit: IFJ PAN)

Electrospinning has been used to produce polymer fibers containing the well-known antibacterial drug metronidazole. The mats formed could potentially be used as wound dressings, thanks to an appropriately selected polymeric structure capable of releasing the drug into the body in a controlled manner.

In the course of the research, fibers with homogeneous structures and those built from a polymer envelope and a polymer-drug core were produced. In the latter case, a coaxial needle, which can be imagined as a needle within a needle, plays a critical role during electrospinning. In its outer part, which has a ring cross-section, a solution of the polymer selected for the coating material is introduced, while a mixture of the polymer with the target drug is directed into the central part, responsible for the core of the future fiber.

In vitro baseline studies on metronidazole mats, carried out using two types of polymer, established that to provide an adequate surface area for absorption and release of the encapsulated drug, the fiber diameter should be between 0.7 and 1.3 µm. During the storage period, the polymeric fibers with the drug provide an airtight seal to the dressing, while after application they become sufficiently porous in response to the fluids in the environment to start releasing the drug.

Measurements show that the metronidazole contained in the mats is gradually released from them over several hours. However, there is an additional time limitation: the mats can be stored for no more than one month prior to application. Importantly, this limitation is not due to the method of drug delivery, but to the properties of metronidazole itself, which starts to crystallize after this time.

The metronidazole-containing polymer fiber mats are 2 ´ 2 cm in size and in the form of a product potentially ready for therapeutic applications. Their physical and chemical properties are already well understood, so further stages of research will require cooperation with interested scientific and medical institutions.

Source 

Topics:
Drug Delivery Materials Medical Polymers Product Development

More From SAE Media Group