title: 5-Fluorouracil loaded Eudragit fibers prepared by electrospinning.
abstract: A series of 5-fluorouracil (5-FU) loaded core/shell electrospun fibers is reported. The fibers have shells made of Eudragit S100 (ES-100), and drug-loaded cores comprising poly(vinylpyrrolidone), ethyl cellulose, ES-100, or drug alone. Monolithic 5-FU loaded ES-100 fibers were also prepared for comparison. Electron microscopy showed all the fibers to have smooth cylindrical shapes, and clear core-shell structures were visible for all samples except the monolithic fibers. 5-FU was present in the amorphous physical form in all the materials prepared. Dissolution studies showed that the ES-100 shell was not able to prevent drug release at pH 1.0, even though the polymer is completely insoluble at this pH: around 30-80% of the maximum drug release was reached after 2h immersion at pH 1.0. These observations are ascribed to the low molecular weight of 5-FU permitting it to diffuse through pores in the ES-100 coating, and the relatively high acid solubility of the drug providing a thermodynamic impetus for this to happen. In addition, the fibers were observed to be broken or merged following 2h at pH 1.0, giving additional escape routes for the 5-FU.
authors.affiliation: UCL School of Pharmacy, University College London, 29-39 Brunswick Square, London WC1N 1AX, UK.
authors.forename: U Eranka
authors.initials: UE
authors.lastname: Illangakoon
authors.affiliation: School of Materials Science & Engineering, University of Shanghai for Science and Technology, Shanghai 200093, China. Electronic address: ydg017@usst.edu.cn.
authors.forename: Deng-Guang
authors.initials: DG
authors.lastname: Yu
authors.affiliation: UCL School of Pharmacy, University College London, 29-39 Brunswick Square, London WC1N 1AX, UK.
authors.forename: Bilal S
authors.initials: BS
authors.lastname: Ahmad
authors.affiliation: Department of Life, Health & Chemical Sciences, The Open University, Walton Hall, Milton Keynes MK7 6AA, UK. Electronic address: nicholas.chatterton@open.ac.uk.
authors.forename: Nicholas P
authors.initials: NP
authors.lastname: Chatterton
authors.affiliation: UCL School of Pharmacy, University College London, 29-39 Brunswick Square, London WC1N 1AX, UK. Electronic address: g.williams@ucl.ac.uk.
authors.forename: Gareth R
authors.initials: GR
authors.lastname: Williams
mesh_terms: D004337:Drug Carriers / Q000737:chemistry; D016503:Drug Delivery Systems / Q000379:methods*; D065546:Drug Liberation; D005472:Fluorouracil / Q000737:chemistry*; D006863:Hydrogen-Ion Concentration; D057139:Nanofibers / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000648:ultrastructure; D011109:Polymethacrylic Acids / Q000737:chemistry*; D012995:Solubility; D013678:Technology, Pharmaceutical / Q000379:methods*
chemical_list: D004337:Drug Carriers; D011109:Polymethacrylic Acids; C038300:methylmethacrylate-methacrylic acid copolymer; D005472:Fluorouracil
keywords: 5-Fluorouracil; 5-Fluoruracil (PubChem CID: 3385); Coaxial electrospinning; Colon-targeted drug delivery; Eudragit