Electrospun nanofibers have sparked tremendous attention in drug delivery since they can offer high specific surface area, tailored release of drugs, controlled surface chemistry for preferred protein adsorption, and tunable porosity. Several functional motifs were incorporated into electrospun nanofibers to greatly expand their drug loading capacity or to provide the sustained release of the embedded drug molecules. In this regard, cyclodextrins (CyD) are considered as ideal drug carrier molecules as they are natural, edible, and biocompatible compounds with a truncated cone-shape with a relatively hydrophobic cavity interior for complexation with hydrophobic drugs and a hydrophilic exterior to increase the water-solubility of drugs. Further, the formation of CyD-drug inclusion complexes can protect drug molecules from physiological degradation, or elimination and thus increases the stability and bioavailability of drugs, of which the release takes place with time, accompanied by fiber degradation. In this review, we summarize studies related to CyD-functional electrospun nanofibers for drug delivery applications. The review begins with an introductory description of electrospinning; the structure, properties, and toxicology of CyD; and CyD-drug complexation. Thereafter, the release of various drug molecules from CyD-functional electrospun nanofibers is provided in subsequent sections. The review concludes with a summary and outlook on material strategies.

Electrospinning of Cyclodextrin Functional Nanofibers for Drug Delivery Applications

Surface decoration of Halloysite nanotubes with POSS for fire-safe thermoplastic polyurethane nanocomposites

Silk, a natural biopolymer, has been used clinically as suture material over thousands of years and has received much impetus for a plethora of biomedical applications in the last two decades. Silk...

Insight into Silk-Based Biomaterials: From Physicochemical Attributes to Recent Biomedical Applications

Electrospun chitosan oligosaccharide/polycaprolactone nanofibers loaded with wound-healing compounds of Rutin and Quercetin as antibacterial dressings

The usage of a guided bone regeneration (GBR) membrane that prevents the ingrowth of fibroblast cells and enhances the regeneration rate is an effective strategy for bone regeneration therapy. Herein, LAPONITE® (LAP) nanoplatelets, a bioactive clay with good osteoinductivity, were incorporated within a regenerated silk fibroin (RSF) microfibrous mat via electrospinning. The as-prepared RSF-LAP hybrid microfibrous mats had an interconnected structure with pore size significantly smaller than that of the fibroblast cells, leading to an effective prevention of fibroblast cell ingrowth into the defect sites. As per the water contact angle measurements, the incorporation of LAP significantly improved the hydrophilicity of the RSF microfibrous mats. The in vitro cell experiment results show that the RSF-LAP microfibrous mats exhibited better cell adhesion and proliferation of bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells (BMSCs) than the pristine RSF microfibrous mats. Moreover, the RSF-LAP microfibrous mats promoted osteogenic differentiation by upregulating alkaline phosphatase (ALP) activity and osteo-specific gene expression. Therefore, the results suggest that this easily fabricated LAP-incorporated RSF microfibrous mat has great potential to be a promising biomaterial for GBR applications.

Wen Liu

Papers

Silk-based hybrid microfibrous mats as guided bone regeneration membranes.

Tamoxifen-loaded silk fibroin electrospun fibers

Silk microfibrous mats with long-lasting antimicrobial function