Colon-specific pulsatile drug release provided by electrospun shellac nanocoating on hydrophilic amorphous composites

• Main Authors: Yang Y, Liu ZP, Yu DG, Wang K, Liu P, Chen X
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Dove Medical Press 2018-04-01
• Series: International Journal of Nanomedicine
• Subjects: modified coaxial electrospinning; nanocoating; colon-specific; pulsatile release; structural composites
• Online Access: https://www.dovepress.com/colon-specific-pulsatile-drug-release-provided-by-electrospun-shellac--peer-reviewed-article-IJN

Yao-Yao Yang,1,* Zhe-Peng Liu,2,* Deng-Guang Yu,1 Ke Wang,1 Ping Liu,1 Xiaohong Chen1 1School of Materials Science and Engineering, University of Shanghai for Science and Technology, Shanghai, China; 2School of Medical Instrument and Food Engineering, University of Shanghai for Science and Technology, Shanghai, China *These authors contributed equally to this work Background: Colon-specific pulsatile drug release, as a combined drug controlled-release model, is a useful drug delivery manner for a series of diseases. New nanomedicines and related preparation methods are highly desired. Methods: With diclofenac sodium (DS) as a model drug, a new type of structural nanocomposite (SC), in which composite polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP)–DS core was coated by shellac, was fabricated via modified coaxial electrospinning. For comparison, traditional PVP–DS monolithic hydrophilic nanocomposites (HCs) were generated using a traditional blending process. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD), attenuated total reflectance-Fourier transform infrared (ATR-FTIR), water contact angle (WCA), and in vitro dissolution and ex vivo permeation tests were conducted to characterize the composites. Results: SEM images demonstrated that both composites were linear nanofibers with smooth surface morphology and cross sections. TEM disclosed that the SCs had a thin shellac sheath layer of approximately 12 nm. XRD and ATR-FTIR results demonstrated that the crystalline DS was converted into amorphous composites with PVP because of favorable secondary interactions. WCA and in vitro dissolution tests demonstrated that the sheath shellac layers in SC could resist acid conditions and provide typical colon-specific pulsatile release, rather than a pulsatile release of HC under acid conditions. Ex vivo permeation results demonstrated that the SCs were able to furnish a tenfold drug permeation rate than the DS particles on the colon membrane. Conclusion: A new SC with a shellac coating on hydrophilic amorphous nanocomposites could furnish a colon-specific pulsatile drug release profile. The modified coaxial process can be exploited as a useful tool to create nanocoatings. Keywords: modified coaxial electrospinning, nanocoating, colon-targeted, pulsatile release, structural composites