RESUMEN
Surgical site infections (SSI) occur very frequently during post-operative procedures and are often treated with oral antibiotics, which may cause some side effects. This type of infection could be avoided by encapsulating antimicrobial/anti-inflammatory drugs within the surgical suture materials so that they can more efficiently act on the site of action during wound closure, avoiding post-operative bacterial infection and spreading. This work was aimed at developing novel electrospun bio-based anti-infective fibre-based yarns as novel suture materials for preventing surgical site infections. For this, yarns based on flying intertwined microfibres (1.95 ± 0.22 µm) were fabricated in situ during the electrospinning process using a specially designed yarn collector. The electrospun yarn sutures (diameter 300-500 µm) were made of poly(3-hydroxybutyrate-co-3-hydroxyvalerate) with different contents of 3HV units and contained ciprofloxacin hydrochloride (CPX) as the antimicrobial active pharmaceutical ingredient (API). The yarns were then analysed by scanning electron microscopy, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, wide-angle X-ray scattering, differential scanning calorimetry, and in vitro drug release. The yarns were also analysed in terms of antimicrobial and mechanical properties. The material characterization indicated that the varying polymer molecular architecture affected the attained polymer crystallinity, which was correlated with the different drug-eluting profiles. Moreover, the materials exhibited the inherent stiff behaviour of PHBV, which was further enhanced by the API. Lastly, all the yarn sutures presented antimicrobial properties for a time release of 5 days against both Gram-positive and Gram-negative pathogenic bacteria. The results highlight the potential of the developed antimicrobial electrospun yarns in this study as potential innovative suture materials to prevent surgical infections.
RESUMEN
Bacterial infections in the oral cavity can become a serious problem causing pain, sores and swelling for several weeks. This type of infection could be alleviated using mucoadhesive delivery systems, allowing local administration of the antibiotic to inhibit bacterial spreading. This work reports the development of a multilayer antibiotic patch containing ciprofloxacin hydrochloride (CPX)-loaded electrospun fibers for the treatment of such infections. For this, the release kinetics of the CPX-loaded fibers was modulated using different ratios of polyester blends. The selected reservoir layer was analyzed by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), wide angle x-ray scattering (WAXS) and differential scanning calorimetry (DSC). These analyses confirmed the presence and good distribution of the drug in the fibers and that the drug is in an amorphous state within the reservoir layer. To enhance mucoadhesion whilst ensuring drug directionality, the reservoir layer was assembled to a backing and an adhesive layer. This multilayer patch was assessed in terms of in vitro drug release, adhesion and antimicrobial properties. The multilayer strategy showed excellent antimicrobial properties over time and also a strong adhesion patch time in the volunteers for an average of 7 h. These results highlight the capabilities of multilayer electrospun patches as platforms to treat oral infections.
RESUMEN
The work herein presented aims to develop and characterize carvedilol (CVD) releasable non-water-soluble monolayers and a multilayer patch made of ultrathin micron and submicron fibers for drug delivery into the sublingual mucosa. Firstly, the developed formulations containing CVD within different biopolymers (PDLA, PCL, and PHB) were characterized by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), attenuated total reflectance Fourier transformed infrared spectroscopy (ATR-FTIR), differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), wide-angle X-ray scattering (WAXS), and for their in vitro drug release. SEM micrographs assessed the fiber morphology attained by adding carvedilol. ATR-FTIR spectra revealed good chemical compatibility between CVD and the tested biopolymers, whereas DSC and WAXS confirmed that CVD was in an amorphous state within the biopolymeric fibers. In vitro release studies showed enhanced CVD release kinetics from the electrospun biopolymer monolayers compared to the dissolution rate of the commercial form of the pure drug, except for the slow-releasing PDLA fibers. Finally, the selected CVD-loaded layer, i.e., electrospun PHB, was built into a three-layer patch to tackle mucosa adhesion and unidirectional release, while retaining the enhanced release kinetics. The patch design proposed here further demonstrates the potential of the electro-hydrodynamic processing technology to render unique mucoadhesive controlled delivery platforms for poorly water-soluble drugs.
