Quercetin-loaded and unloaded electrospun membranes: Synthesis, characterization and in vitro release study

Electrospun fiber membranes have been utilized to delivery hydrophilic/hydrophobic drugs in the drug delivery systems. They offer several features such as high surface area to volume ratio, high porosity and high productivity. In this paper, quercetin (QU)-loaded and unloaded electrospun membranes were prepared via electrospinning of polycaprolactone (PCL) blended with polyethylene oxide (PEO), polylactic acid (PLA), and polylactic-co-glycolic acid (PLGA). The prepared membranes were characterized by scanning electron micro-scopy (SEM), atomic force microscopy (AFM), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR), X-ray diffraction (XRD), and drop shape analysis (DSA). In vitro release of QU from the QU-loaded membranes was examined in simulated physiological condition by ultraviolet-visible spectroscopy. The results of morphological analysis revealed that electrospun membrane prepared by the mixture of PCL and PEO polymers with QU had more smooth, beadless and random morphology. Due to the release study, the highest amount of QU release was obtained within 240 min period. In addition, in vitro cytotoxicity study indicated that the QU-loaded membranes exhibited toxicity on human breast carcinoma cells in 24 h. These results showed that quercetin-loaded PCL and PEO membranes can be used in drug delivery systems as a drug carrier vehicle.