Nanofibers: An effective tool for controlled and sustained drug delivery

Background: Electrospun nonwoven nanofibers are emerging as a novel carrier for verity of drugs meant for treatment of infections, disorders and tissue engineering scaffolds. These systems may used widely in controlled release of drug that are beneficial for the health management. Nonwoven structures may provide great surface area, absorbable, simplistic processing and economical. For water loving small molecule drugs, their high water solubility and poor partition and compatibility issues with polymers make it long term release yet more challenging. Methods: Several strategies have been explored to control the release of hydrophilic drugs with high drug payload in electrospun fibers. Various techniques like blending, co-axial electrospinning can be used to improve drug payload. Results: Studies have suggested that electrospinning methods are important attributes of developed nanofibers. Further, types of polymers are also important contributory factor on drug load and release. This review gives an overview of nanofibers used for controlled and sustained release for drugs. Conclusions: This articles enlightened that physicochemical and biological properties of nanofibers may be regulated by changing processing and formulation parameters.