Medicated structural PVP/PEG composites fabricated using coaxial electrospinning

Abstract A new type of medicated polymeric composite consisting of acyclovir (ACY), polyvinylpyrrolidone K60 (PVP) and polyethylene glycol 6000 (PEG) with core-shell structure were prepared by a coaxial electrospinning process. The composites could enhance the dissolution of the poorly water-soluble drug. The shell layers were formed from a spinnable working fluid containing the filament-forming PVP and citric acid while the core parts were prepared from an un-spinnable co-dissolving solution composed of ACY, sodium hydrate and PEG. Scanning electron microscope and transmission electron microscope observations demonstrated that the composites had a homogeneous linear topography with a slippery surface, a diameter of 670±130 nm, and an obvious core-shell structure. X-ray diffraction (XRD) and attenuated total reflectance-Fourier transform infrared (ATR-FTIR) spectroscopy results demonstrated that the drug and citric acid contained in the core and shell parts were in an amorphous status. In vitro dissolution experiments exhibited that ACY was able to be free within 1 min, and the dissolution media were neutral due to acid-basic action within the core-shell structures. The medicated nanocomposites resulted from a combined usage of hydrophilic polymeric excipients PVP and PEG could provide a new solution to the problem associated with the dissolution of poorly water-soluble drugs.