Introduction
Polymeric nanofibers have been widely used in many fields such as tissue engineering
and drug delivery systems. Electrospinning is the most commonly used polymeric
nanofiber pr eparation method. Because it is a single -step, low cost, reproducible
method. It allows the production of extracellular matrix -like nanofibers that provides
easy scale-up and have different properties with many polymers and solvents [1 -4].
Drug loaded electrospun polymeric nanofibers have many unique properties such as
accelerating healing and providing controlled drug release, stimulation of cell growth
and proliferation due to their similarity to extracellular matrix, large surface area, high
encapsulation efficiency, high porosity and superior mechanical properties [5-7].
In our study, FDA -approved polylactic acid (PLA) and poly lactic -co-glycolic acid
(PLGA), which are frequently preferred polymers in the production of polymeric
nanofibers, were used. Because they are biodegradable, biocompatible, non-toxic and
provide high mechanical strength [1,8]. In this study, ampicillin trihydrate, an FDA
approved β -lactam antibiotics, a broad -spectrum semi -synthetic derivative of
aminopenicillin, was used. Ampicill in trihydrate acts by inhibiting the synthesis of
peptidoglycan, a critical component of the bacterial cell wall [9]. 1,1,1,3,3,3-Hexafluoro-
2-propanol (HFIP) was used as solvent in the study. It is preferred due to its sufficiently
low surface tension and sufficiently high dielectric constant and volatility [10].
In our previous study, we produced ampicillin trihydrate loaded electrospun PLA and
PLA/PCL nanofibers and the effect of PLA concentration and added PCL amount on
the nanofibers properties were investigated [11]. In this research, ampicillin trihydrate
loaded PLA and PLA/PLGA nanofibers with controllable morphology, nanofiber
diameter, mechanical properties, encapsulation efficiency and in vitro drug release
were prepared via electrospinning. The spinnability and properties of the PLA
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nanofibers associated with drug concentration (4 -12%) and PLGA addition and the
amount of added PLGA (20-80%) were also investigated. The aim of this study was to
produce and characterize ampicillin trihydrate loaded implantable PLA and PLA/PLGA
electrospun polymeric nanofibers for controlled drug release with favorable properties
for use in tissue engineering. Although there are studies on electrospun PLA/PLGA
nanofibers, there are few studies on the effect of PLA:PLG A ratios on nanofiber
morphology, nanofiber diameter, in vitro drug release and mechanical properties.
Results
and Discussion
Preparation and characterization of ampicillin trihydrate loaded
electrospun nanofibers
Stable jet and continuous nanofiber formation was observed in all PLA nanofibers
containing different amount of drug and in PLA/PLGA nanofibers with different ratios
of PLGA (Figure 1 and 2). All PLA and PLA/PLGA nanofibers were randomly aligned,
smooth and bead-free (Figure 1 and 2).
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Figure 1: SEM images of nanofibers produced by change in ampicillin trihydrate
concentration (F1:%4, F2:%8 and F3:%12) (A: 10.000 x, B: 20.000 x, C: 50.000 x)
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Figure 2: SEM images of PLA/PLGA [F2: PLA(100:0); F4: PLA/PLG A(80:20);
F5: PLA/PLGA(60:40); F6: PLA/PLGA(20:80)]
The average nanofiber diameters calculated using SEM images of nanofibers in
ImageJ were given in Table 1 and Table 2.
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Table 1: PLA nanofibers prepared in the study
Formulation
Polymer
Polymer Concentration (%)
Polymer Ratio(%)
Ampicillin trihydrate (%)
Voltage (kV)
Capilary-collector
distance (cm)
Flow rate (ml/h)
Diameter±SD (nm)
Encapsulation efficiency (%)
F1
PLA
10
100:0
4
11.5
10
0.8
416.5±8.4
91.3
F2 PLA
10
100:0
8 11.5 10 0.8
432.7±11.4
90.0
F3 PLA
10
100:0
12 11.5 10 0.8
476.7±9.8
64.5
Table 2: PLA/PLGA nanofibers prepared in the study
Formulation
Polymer
Polymer Concentration (%)
Polymer Ratio(%)
Ampicillin trihydrate (%)
Voltage (kV)
Capilary-collector
distance (cm)
Flow rate (ml/h)
Diameter±SD (nm)
Encapsulation efficiency (%)
F2 PLA: 10 100:0 8 11.5 10 0.8 432.7±11.4 90.0
F4
PLA:
PLGA
10 80:20 8
11.5 10 0.8 820.0±10.4
89.4
F5
PLA:
PLGA
10 60:40 8
11.5 10 0.8 747.9±14.7
89.9
F6
PLA:
PLGA
10 20:80 8
11.5 10 0.8 447.1±6.6
91.2
The diameters of the PLA nanofibers ranged from 417 to 477 nm (Table 1). As the
amount of drug in the nanofiber increased, the nanofiber diameter increased (Table 1,
Figure 1). While the diameter of the nanofiber containing 4% drug was 417 nm, when
the amount of drug was increased to 8% and 12%, the nanofiber diameter increased
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to 433 and 477 nm, respectively (p<0.05). This could be attributed to the increase in
the amount of drug resulting in surface loading [12].
In order to examine the effects of PLGA ad dition on PLA nanofibers, PLA/PLGA
nanofibers were produced by replacing 20% to 80% of PLA with PLGA in the F2 coded
formulation containing 8% drug (Figure 2). As can be seen in Table 2, the diameters
of the PLA/PLGA nanofibers ranged from 447 to 820 nm. The addition of PLGA to PLA
led to an increase in nanofiber diameter. The highest increase in nanofiber diameter
was in F4 coded nanofiber, which’s PLGA ratio was 20%. The nanofiber diameter
increased from 433 nm to 820 nm with the replacement of 20% PLGA ( p<0.05).
However, as the amount of added PLGA increased, a decrease in nanofiber diameter
was observed. When the PLGA ratio was increased to 40% and 80%, the nanofiber
diameter was 745 nm and 447 nm, respectively. The increase in nanofiber diameter
with the addition of PLGA can be explained by the higher molecular weight of PLGA
than that of PLA. Because the increase in polymer molecular weight increases the
viscosity, which leads to the increase of nanofiber diameter [13 -15]. Another reason
for this was th at the average diameter of nanofibers changes with the change of
polymer type [16-17]. In a study conducted by Liu et al. (2012), unlike our results, the
diameter of PLGA/PLA nanofibers increased with a decrease in the amount of PLGA
[8].
In a study, it was found that by increasing the amount of PCL in PLGA/PCL nanofibers
from 10% to 20%, the fiber diameter decreased from 1000 nm to 500 nm, but as the
amount of PCL increased to 30%, the diameter increased to 2000 nm [1]. Similarly, in
our previous study, the increase in the amount of PCL initially caused an increase in
fiber diameter, while it decreased as the amount of added PCL increased. In our
previous study, fiber diameter increased from 1168 nm to 1334 nm when 10% of PLGA
was replaced by PCL. Howev er, the fiber diameter decreased to 1128 nm by adding
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25% PCL, and to 770 nm by adding 50% PCL to the formulation [15]. These
demonstrated that the effect of PCL addition on the diameters of PLGA fibers was not
linear. In the present study, it was proven that adding PLGA to PLA caused an increase
in nanofiber diameters independent of the increasement in the amount of added PLGA.
Encapsulation Efficiency of Nanofibers
The encapsulation efficiency of PLA nanofibers containing up to %8 drug was quite
high. As the amount of ampicillin trihydrate increased, the encapsulation efficiency
decreased. A significant decrease in encapsulation efficiency was observed with
increasing the drug content to 12% (Table 1) (p<0.05). While the encapsulation
efficiency of nanofibers containing 4% and 8% ampicillin trihydrate was about 90%, it
decreased to 65% when the amount of ampicillin trihydrate was increased to 12%. It is
thought that the encapsulation efficiency is reduced because of the excess drug
loading leading to undis solved drug in solution [18]. In addition, F3 coded nanofiber
containing 12% ampicillin trihydrate may have formed a heterogeneous matrix instead
of a homogeneous matrix.
The addition of PLGA and the amount of added PLGA to PLA did not cause a change
in encapsulation efficiency. The encapsulation efficiency of PLA/PLGA nanofibers was
also quite high (about 90%).
Dissolution Studies
In vitro drug release from PLA and PLA/PLGA nanofibers was examined. The in vitro
drug release of PLA electrospun nanofibers p roduced by varying the amount of
ampicillin trihydrate in Table 1, was shown in Figure 3.
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Figure 3: Effect of drug amount on in vitro release from PLA nanofibers
As can be seen in Figure 3, increasing the amount of drug increased the burst
effect. Cumulative drug release in 24 hours was 32.1%, 39.6% and 69.4% for those
containing 4% (F1), 8% (F2) and 12% (F3) ampicillin trihydrate, respectively. Drug
release ended within 3 days in the F3 coded formulation containing 12% ampicillin
trihydrate, while the drug release ended on the 7 th day in the F1 coded formulation
containing 4% ampicillin trihydrate. In the F2 coded formulation containing 8% drug,
drug release continued for up to 10 days (Figure 3). It was concluded that the optimum
ampicillin trihydrate concentration in PLA nanofibers was 8% due to the prolonged and
most controlled in vitro drug release. In other studies conducted on different polymer
and polymer blends and drugs, it has been shown that the increase in the amount of
drug caused a higher burst effect and faster drug release [12,19-20].
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In vitro drug release of PLA/PLGA electrospun nanofibers produced by
replacing 20% to 80% of PLA with PLGA in the F2 c oded formulation containing 8%
drug was shown in Figure 4.
Figure 4: Effect of PLGA amount on in vitro release from PLA/PLGA nanofibers
As can be seen in Figure 4, in vitro drug release decreased with the addition of
PLGA to PLA, and increased with the increasement of added PLGA used in the
production of PLA/PLGA electrospun nanofibers. The addition of PLGA and the
increase in the amount of PLGA also caused a decrease in the burst effect (Figure 4).
As can be seen in Table 2 and Figure 4, the in vitro drug release decreased in
association with the reduction in nanofiber diameters with the addition of PLGA. Drug
release was slower in large diameter nanofibers due to the greater distance required
for the drug to diffuse and lower specific surface areas rela tive to fine diameter fibers
[15,21-22].
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Another reason why drug release was slower in PLA/PLGA nanofibers
compared to PLA nanofiber may be that the PLGA molecular weight was higher than
the PLA molecular weight. Srikar et al. (2008) showed that the change in polymer
content and molecular weight also affects the drug release rate as they affect the
nanoporosity and desorption enthalpy of nanofibers [23]. Because the increase in the
molecular weight of the polymer led to a decrease in nanoporosity and an inc rease in
viscosity of polymer solution and diameter of nanofibers [13,23], drug release from
PLA/PLGA nanofibers with a smaller surface area was slower than PLA nanofibers
with a larger surface area.
Figure 5: DSC thermograms of ampicillin trihydrate, PL A, PLGA, PLA nanofiber and
PLA/PLGA nanofiber
As shown in Figure 5, the absence of the melting endotherm peak at 125.58°C
specific to pure ampicillin trihydrate in the DSC thermograms of the PLA, PLGA, PLA
nanofibers and PLA/PLGA nanofibers proved that amp icillin trihydrate was loaded in
the nanofibers in amorphous form.
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Mechanical Properties of Nanofibers
Mechanical properties of nanofibers depend on their composition, porosity, average
size and distribution, individual nanofiber orientation, interaction b etween nanofibers,
and arrangement and entanglement of the nanofibers [24-26].
Mechanical properties of PLA nanofibers containing different amounts of drug were
shown in Table 3. Due to the increase in the amount of drug causing an increase in
nanofiber si ze, both the tensile strength and the tensile modulus of the nanofibers
decreased (p<0.05) (Table 1 and Table 3).
Table 3: Mechanical properties of PLA nanofibers
Formulation Tensile
strength±SD
(mPa)
Elongation
at break±SD
(%)
F1 2.62±0.46 21.59±7.51
F2 2.06±0.34 11.64±0.95
F3 1.77±0.24 9.52±1.26
The tensile strength and elongation at break value of PLA nanofibers containing 4%
drug were 2.62 mPa and 21.59%, respectively. When the amount of drug increased
from 4% to 8%, they decreased to 2.06 mPa and 11.64%, while the nanofiber diameter
increased from 417 nm to 433 nm (p<0.05). Similarly, increasing the drug amount to
12% caused an increase in nanofiber diameter and a decrease in mechanical
properties (p<0.05). As the increase i n the amount of drug caused an increase in
nanofiber size, both tensile strength and tensile modulus of the nanofibers decreased
(p<0.05) (Table 1 and Table 3).
The size of the nanofiber affects the deformation behavior. This is because larger
diameter of fibers tend to display bulk -like properties [27]. The effect of nanofiber
diameter on the mechanical properties observed in this study was similar to our
previous studies with linezolid loaded PLGA and PCL/PLGA nanofibers [15,28]. Chew
14
et al. (2006) also s howed that the increase in the amount of bovine serum albumin
caused an increase in nanofiber diameter and a decrease in the mechanical properties
of poly (caprolactone-co-ethyl ethylene phosphate) nanofibers [29].
The tensile strength of the PLA nanofiber was 2.06 mPa and the elongation at break
value was 11.64%. As PLGA was added to PLA nanofiber, the mechanical properties
of PLA/PLGA nanofibers increased and the nanofibers had a harder structure. When
the PLGA concentration was 20 % (F4), 40% (F5) and 80% (F6), the tensile strength
increased to 2.58 mPa, 2.66 mPa and 2.15 mPa, respectively (Table 4).
Table 4: Mechanical properties of PLA/PLGA nanofibers
Formulation Tensile
strength±SD
(mPa)
Elongation
at break±SD
(%)
F2 2.06±0.34 11.64±0.95
F4 2.58±0.27 12.46±1.04
F5 2.66±0.20 11.49±0.40
F6 2.15±0.17 11.94±0.85
The difference in mechanical properties could be explained by the increase in
nanofiber diameter. As can be seen in Table 2 and 4, the increase in mechanical
properties was directly proportional to the increase in nanofiber diameter. While the
increase in both nanofiber diameter and mechanical properties in F4 and F5 coded
PLA/PLGA nanofibers was statistically significant compared to F1 coded PLA
nanofibers (p0.05). The reason that the increase in diameter with the
increase of PLGA led to an increase in mechanical properties was that nanofibers had
a compact arrangement and a stable s tructure. This may also be due to the increase
in diameter causing reduced porosity [8].
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