Controlled gentamicin release from multi-layered electrospun nanofibrous structures of various thicknesses

Jakub Sirc,¹ Sarka Kubinova,² Radka Hobzova,¹ Denisa Stranska,³ Petr Kozlik,⁴ Zuzana Bosakova,⁴ Dana Marekova,² Vladimir Holan,⁵ Eva Sykova,² Jiri Michalek<sup>1

1</sup>Department of Polymer Gels, Institute of Macromolecular Chemistry, Academy of Science of the Czech Republic, Prague, Czech Republic; ²Department of Neuroscience, Institute of Experimental Medicine, Academy of Science of the Czech Republic, Prague, Czech Republic; ³Elmarco Ltd, Liberec, Czech Republic; ⁴Department of Analytical Chemistry, Faculty of Science, Charles University in Prague, Prague, Czech Republic; ⁵Department of Transplant Immunology, Institute of Molecular Genetics, Academy of Science of the Czech Republic, Prague, Czech Republic

Abstract: Polyvinyl alcohol nanofibers incorporating the wide spectrum antibiotic gentamicin were prepared by Nanospider™ needleless technology. A polyvinyl alcohol layer, serving as a drug reservoir, was covered from both sides by polyurethane layers of various thicknesses. The multilayered structure of the nanofibers was observed using scanning electron microscopy, the porosity was characterized by mercury porosimetry, and nitrogen adsorption/desorption measurements were used to determine specific surface areas. The stability of the gentamicin released from the electrospun layers was proved by high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) and inhibition of bacterial growth. Drug release was investigated using in vitro experiments with HPLC/MS quantification, while the antimicrobial efficacy was evaluated on Gram-positive Staphylococcus aureus and Gram-negative Pseudomonas aeruginosa. Both experiments proved that the released gentamicin retained its activity and showed that the retention of the drug in the nanofibers was prolonged with the increasing thickness of the covering layers.

Keywords: nanofibers, electrospinning, multilayered structure, morphology, gentamicin, drug release

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