Electrospun hydroxypropyl-/3-cyclodextrin nanofibers loaded with anti-inflammatory drugs for potential therapeutic wound dressings

Electrospun cyclodextrin nanofibers as innovative drug delivery structures offer efficient, selective, and controlled drug release. In the present work, free-standing nanofibrous webs (NFs) were fabricated from inclusion complexes (ICs) between 2-hydroxypropyl-/3-cyclodextrin (HP/3CD) and non -steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) using an electrospinning technique. The fabricated NSAID-HP/3CD-IC-NFs were characterized by field emission scanning electron microscopy, X-ray diffraction, thermogravimetric/differential thermal analysis, ultraviolet diffuse reflectance spectroscopy, and photoluminescence analysis. Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, 1H nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy, and computational studies were carried out to characterize the NSAID-HP/3CD-IC-NFs and identify the functional groups involved in the binding mechanism. The NFs showed higher thermal stability than the pure drugs due to IC formation. The ultraviolet-visible absorption and fluorescence results indicated strong interactions between the HP/3CD and NSAIDs with significant association constants at 1:1 stoichiometry. The efficiency of the NFs in terms of cell biocompatibility was verified, and the NFs exhibited excellent biocompatibility, as determined by in vitro biocompatibility assay. The in vitro scratch assay confirmed that the NFs allow the rapid growth and migration of skin fibroblast cells. These results showed that these NFs could be potential candidates for wound treatment.