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Electrospun sandwich configuration nanofibers as transparent membranes for skin care drug delivery systems

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The development of biocompatible nanocomposites for biomedical applications such as drug release has attracted increasing attention in recent years. In this work, electrospun membranes composed of polycaprolactone (PCL) and shellac were fabricated because PCL has favorable mechanical and biological properties, such as high biocompatibility and biodegradability. Meanwhile, shellac is biocompatible and non-toxic; as a result, the fabricated membranes are attractive for controlled drug delivery. Here, PCL/shellac/PCL nanofiber membranes were treated by ethanol vapor to improve their properties for use in drug delivery applications. Salicylic acid was loaded in the drug delivery system as a model drug, and three PCL/shellac/PCL membrane configurations were investigated. Ethanol vapor treatment increased the tensile strength, flexibility, and transparency of the membranes. Both the tensile strength and drug release properties of the membranes strongly depended on the ratio of PCL to shellac.

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Acknowledgements

This work was supported by a Grant-in-Aid for the Shinshu University Advanced Leading Graduate Program by the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (MEXT), Japan. Special thanks extend to my dear sweet Lubin Qu, who helped me correct my paper amidst his busy schedule and try his best to make me happy.

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Correspondence to Qing-Qing Ni.

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10853_2018_2241_MOESM1_ESM.docx

Supplementary information Fig. S1–S3† are about SEM images of shellac solution in ethanol (55, 65, and 75wv %) were mixed to determine the optimal electrospinning solution. Fig. S4† is the XRD patterns of the pure PCL nanofibers before and after treatment. Fig. S5† shows the XRD patterns of M1, M2, and M3 before and after treatment. Fig. S6† is the calibration curve of salicylic acid (DOCX 816 kb)

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Ma, K., Qiu, Y., Fu, Y. et al. Electrospun sandwich configuration nanofibers as transparent membranes for skin care drug delivery systems. J Mater Sci 53, 10617–10626 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10853-018-2241-4

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10853-018-2241-4

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