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Polymeric Electrospun Nanofibers: Applications in Drug Delivery and Tissue Engineering

A special issue of Materials (ISSN 1996-1944). This special issue belongs to the section "Advanced Nanomaterials and Nanotechnology".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (31 March 2020) | Viewed by 14607

Special Issue Editor

School of Pharmacy, Queen's University Belfast, Belfast BT7 1NN, UK
Interests: 3D printing; bioprinting; drug delivery; electrospinning; medical devices; pharmaceutics; microfluidics
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Electrospinning (solution or melt) is a fabrication technique that has been widely researched within the scientific field and is immediately useful for the creation of scaffolds. Electrospun nanofibers offer advantages for a wide range of applications in a variety of fields, including biomedicine and biotechnology. There are a number of different applications that can be explored in drug delivery and tissue engineering fields relating to the combination of synthetic and natural polymers, and integration with various active pharmaceutical ingredients. An important advantage of electrospun fibers over many other types of polymeric fibers or polymeric nanoparticles is their high surface over volume ratio and very high and tuneable porosity, which generate a large and easily accessible surface. Despite their great potential, there is more research still to be done before electrospun formulations can be taken forward into the clinic.

This Special Issue will address new developments in the area of “Polymeric Electrospun Nanofibers for Drug Delivery or Tissue Engineering Applications”, covering recent advantages and future directions on electrospun fiber formulations.

Preference will be awarded to papers that demonstrate contributions from scientists that provide interdisciplinary approaches on the use of electrospinning technologies (solution or melt) on the formulation of electrospun fibers for drug delivery or tissue engineering applications. Original research papers and review articles are welcomed.

Dr. Dimitrios A. Lamprou
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

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Keywords

  • Biomedical Applications
  • Biomedical Materials
  • Biopolymer Formulations
  • Controlled Drug Release
  • Drug Delivery Systems
  • Electrospinning
  • Electrospun Scaffolds
  • Mesh Implants
  • Nanofibers
  • Polymer Formulations
  • Physicochemical Characterization
  • Tissue Engineering

Published Papers (4 papers)

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Research

13 pages, 12511 KiB  
Article
Biological Performance of Electrospun Polymer Fibres
by Ivan Joseph Hall Barrientos, Graeme R. MacKenzie, Clive G. Wilson, Dimitrios A. Lamprou and Paul Coats
Materials 2019, 12(3), 363; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/ma12030363 - 24 Jan 2019
Cited by 16 | Viewed by 3300
Abstract
The evaluation of biological responses to polymeric scaffolds are important, given that the ideal scaffold should be biocompatible, biodegradable, promote cell adhesion and aid cell proliferation. The primary goal of this research was to measure the biological responses of cells against various polymeric [...] Read more.
The evaluation of biological responses to polymeric scaffolds are important, given that the ideal scaffold should be biocompatible, biodegradable, promote cell adhesion and aid cell proliferation. The primary goal of this research was to measure the biological responses of cells against various polymeric and collagen electrospun scaffolds (polycaprolactone (PCL) and polylactic acid (PLA) polymers: PCL–drug, PCL–collagen–drug, PLA–drug and PLA–collagen–drug); cell proliferation was measured with a cell adhesion assay and cell viability using 5-bromo-2′-deoxyuridine (BrdU) and resazurin assays. The results demonstrated that there is a distinct lack of growth of cells against any irgasan (IRG) loaded scaffolds and far greater adhesion of cells against levofloxacin (LEVO) loaded scaffolds. Fourteen-day studies revealed a significant increase in cell growth after a 7-day period. The addition of collagen in the formulations did not promote greater cell adhesion. Cell viability studies revealed the levels of IRG used in scaffolds were toxic to cells, with the concentration used 475 times higher than the EC50 value for IRG. It was concluded that the negatively charged carboxylic acid group found in LEVO is attracting positively charged fibronectin, which in turn is attracting the cell to adhere to the adsorbed proteins on the surface of the scaffold. Overall, the biological studies examined in this paper are valuable as preliminary data for potential further studies into more complex aspects of cell behaviour with polymeric scaffolds. Full article
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17 pages, 14263 KiB  
Article
A Computational Model for Drug Release from PLGA Implant
by Miljan Milosevic, Dusica Stojanovic, Vladimir Simic, Bogdan Milicevic, Andjela Radisavljevic, Petar Uskokovic and Milos Kojic
Materials 2018, 11(12), 2416; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/ma11122416 - 29 Nov 2018
Cited by 17 | Viewed by 4617
Abstract
Due to the relative ease of producing nanofibers with a core–shell structure, emulsion electrospinning has been investigated intensively in making nanofibrous drug delivery systems for controlled and sustained release. Predictions of drug release rates from the poly (d,l-lactic-co-glycolic acid) [...] Read more.
Due to the relative ease of producing nanofibers with a core–shell structure, emulsion electrospinning has been investigated intensively in making nanofibrous drug delivery systems for controlled and sustained release. Predictions of drug release rates from the poly (d,l-lactic-co-glycolic acid) (PLGA) produced via emulsion electrospinning can be a very difficult task due to the complexity of the system. A computational finite element methodology was used to calculate the diffusion mass transport of Rhodamine B (fluorescent drug model). Degradation effects and hydrophobicity (partitioning phenomenon) at the fiber/surrounding interface were included in the models. The results are validated by experiments where electrospun PLGA nanofiber mats with different contents were used. A new approach to three-dimensional (3D) modeling of nanofibers is presented in this work. The authors have introduced two original models for diffusive drug release from nanofibers to the 3D surrounding medium discretized by continuum 3D finite elements: (1) A model with simple radial one-dimensional (1D) finite elements, and (2) a model consisting of composite smeared finite elements (CSFEs). Numerical solutions, compared to experiments, demonstrate that both computational models provide accurate predictions of the diffusion process and can therefore serve as efficient tools for describing transport inside a polymer fiber network and drug release to the surrounding porous medium. Full article
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16 pages, 2583 KiB  
Article
Electrospun Produced 3D Matrices for Covering of Vascular Stents: Paclitaxel Release Depending on Fiber Structure and Composition of the External Environment
by Konstantin A. Kuznetsov, Alena O. Stepanova, Ren I. Kvon, Timothy E. L. Douglas, Nikita A. Kuznetsov, Vera S. Chernonosova, Ivan A. Zaporozhchenko, Maria V. Kharkova, Irina V. Romanova, Andrey A. Karpenko and Pavel P. Laktionov
Materials 2018, 11(11), 2176; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/ma11112176 - 02 Nov 2018
Cited by 15 | Viewed by 3118
Abstract
Paclitaxel is a natural, highly lipophilic anti proliferative drug widely used in medicine. We have studied the release of tritium-labeled paclitaxel (3H-PTX) from matrices destined for the coating of vascular stents and produced by the electrospinning method from the solutions of [...] Read more.
Paclitaxel is a natural, highly lipophilic anti proliferative drug widely used in medicine. We have studied the release of tritium-labeled paclitaxel (3H-PTX) from matrices destined for the coating of vascular stents and produced by the electrospinning method from the solutions of polycaprolactone (PCL) with paclitaxel (PTX) in hexafluoisopropanol (HFIP) and/or solutions of PCL with PTX and human serum albumin (HSA) in HFIP or HIFP-dimethyl sulphoxide (DMSO) blend. The release of PTX has been shown to depend on the composition of electrospinning solution, as well as the surrounding medium, particularly the concentration of free PTX and PTX-binding biomolecules present in human serum. It was shown that 3D matrices can completely release PTX without weight loss. Two-phase PTX release from optimized 3D matrices was obtained: ~27% of PTX was released in the first day, another 8% were released over the next 26 days. Wherein ~2.8%, ~2.3%, and ~0.25% of PTX was released on day 3, 9, and 27, respectively. Considering PTX toxicity, the rate of its diffusion through the arterial wall, and the data obtained the minimum cytostatic dose of the drug in the arterial wall will be maintained for at least three months. Full article
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12 pages, 2493 KiB  
Article
Developing Lignosulfonate-Based Activated Carbon Fibers
by Feng-Cheng Chang, Shih-Hsuan Yen and Szu-Han Wang
Materials 2018, 11(10), 1877; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/ma11101877 - 01 Oct 2018
Cited by 14 | Viewed by 2919
Abstract
In this study, electrospinning technology, physical activation, and carbonization processing were applied to produce lignosulfonate-based activated carbon fibers. The porous structure of the produced lignosulfonate-based activated carbon fibers primarily contained mesopores and a relatively small amount of micropores. Moreover, insufficient carbonization caused fiber [...] Read more.
In this study, electrospinning technology, physical activation, and carbonization processing were applied to produce lignosulfonate-based activated carbon fibers. The porous structure of the produced lignosulfonate-based activated carbon fibers primarily contained mesopores and a relatively small amount of micropores. Moreover, insufficient carbonization caused fiber damage during CO2 activation. The weight loss rate and specific surface area increased with increase in carbonization time, and products with carbonization temperatures of 700 °C were of higher quality than those with other temperatures. Moreover, the two-step carbonization process provided fibers with improved quality because of a low weight loss rate, improved processing, and high surface area. Lignosulfonate-based activated carbon fibers can be used as a highly efficient adsorption and filtration material, and further development of its applications would be valuable. Full article
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