Use of Electrospinning to Enhance the Versatility of Drug Delivery

Abstract

In Sections II, III, and IV, authors have introduced various chemical, biological, and physical strategies for systemic delivery, and have also discussed principles and parameters to be considered when drug carriers are designed. Although these strategies may facilitate the efficiency of systemic delivery per se, practical issues (e.g., repeated dosing) involved in clinical practice may not be fully addressed. To reduce the number of dosing, one commonly used strategy is to incorporate a carrier into a polymer matrix that enables sustained release of the carrier. By implantation of the matrix into a body site, sustained release of the drug carrier (or drugs per se) can reduce the number of dosing required. Electrospinning is one of the techniques widely applied to engineer such matrix. This chapter will give an overview of the possibilities to couple experiments with simulations in electrospinning, and examine, both from the experimental and numerical side, the ways to apply this process to drug delivery and to optimize the process in creation of microfibers, which can subsequently be used for applications such as sustained drug release and tissue engineering in anti-aging medicine. Because a number of electrospinning techniques have already been recognized as an effective method of drug application and delivery, the use of biodegradable polymers in the creation of nanofibers prepared for drug release enables application within the organism with precisely estimated action dynamics.

Glossary

Discrete models

Discrete analogue of continuous modeling.

Electrohydrodynamics

The study of the dynamics of electrically conducting fluids.

Electrospinning

A technology used for production of continuous nano/microscale fibers using a very high-voltage power supply.

Finite element method

Numerical approach/simulation used to achieve finite element analysis of physical phenomena in a wide range of use.

Neural networks

Series of algorithms that strive to recognize possible relationships in a big data set via usage of process that functions in the similar manner as the human brain functions.

PAK software

A BioIRC in-house produced software for graphical pre- and post- processing, linear and geometrically and materially nonlinear structural analysis, linear and nonlinear heat conduction, laminar flow of incompressible fluid and heat transfer, and other similar purposes.

Polycaprolactone

A biodegradable polyester with a low melting point of around 60 ℃ and a glass transition temperature of about −60 ℃.

Polyethylene glycol

A polyether substance with numerous applications, from engineering to medicine. PEG is also known as polyethylene oxide (PEO) or polyoxyethylene (POE), depending on its molecular weight.

Scaffold

An artificial structure used for the support of the formation of new viable tissue for a medical purpose. The main aim of scaffold production is the mimicking the extracellular matrix, so the cells can proliferate and communicate in the most optimal fashion.

Tissue engineering

An engineering discipline which involves the use of a combination of cells, engineering materials, and suitable biochemical factors to improve or replace biological functions.