Controlled and Manageable Release of Antimalarial Artemisone by Encapsulation in Biodegradable Carriers

Nanofiber mats and films are advantageous platforms that can offer unique opportunities as drug carriers in drug delivery technologies. In this research, Artemisone (ART)-loaded polycaprolactone16500-b-α-hydroxy-ω-methoxy poly(ethylene glycol)5000 (PCL-MPEG) nanofibrous nonwovens (NFN), and films were successfully produced and used to carry out fundamental research on the controlled and extended release of ART as an insoluble (hydrophobic) antimalarial from the loaded formulations, which cover a wide range of release kinetics.

The potential wide range of release kinetics as a key finding presented in this work is specifically suitable for the treatment of parasitic diseases induced by various artemisinin sensitive parasites. Generally, nanofibrous structures demonstrated a burst drug release behavior, particularly at the beginning of sink-conditioning, whereas films do not. Therefore, the developed NFN can be used as potential drug delivery candidates to provide an immediate release for drug molecules having poor water solubility such as ART, whereas films can be employed as potentially effective carriers for more retarded release of ART.

The kinetics of the release could be additionally adjusted by dip-coating of NFN with biocompatible coating agents. A tendency to form films from the fibrous structures could be observed by increasing the concentration of coating agents and thus the thickness of the fibrous structures. NFN showed higher water uptake ability in aqueous environment and faster degradation under enzymatic conditions. These results may explain why ART was released quicker from the NFN than from the films. Continue the article here