Self-Nanoemulsifying Electrospun Fiber Enhancing Drug Permeation.

Abstract

Electrospun fibers are excellent drug carriers and tissue engineering scaffolds. However, approaches to promote drug permeation in tissues with such carriers remain of great interest. Here, we propose a Quality-by-Design strategy to enhance drug permeation with self-nanoemulsifying electrospun fibers. Owing to the nanoemulsion which formed spontaneously when the polymer contacts aqueous solution such as body fluid, the resulting drug-laden fibrous membrane exhibits an outstanding drug permeation and therapeutic enhancement effect in a Franz cell experiment with ex vivo abdomen skin of rats, an artificial connective tissue model, and an in vivo rheumatoid arthritis model in rats. Meanwhile, the material also shows the capacity of rational regulation on the rate of drug release. These features of the present strategy establish our material as a new efficient approach for various clinical conditions calling for cure.