This study investigates the effects of drug-loaded nanofibers on the solubility of the poorly water-soluble drug, loratadine. Amorphous morphologies of electrospun loratadine nanofibers were prepared using a low-cost 3D-printed electrospinning setup with counter-flow air for the rapid production of nanofibers. Polyvinylpyrrolidone was used as a carrier polymer and ethanol as a solvent in the solution preparation. The prepared nanofibers were characterized by scanning electron microscopy, differential scanning calorimetry, X-ray diffraction analysis, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, solubility and in vitro dissolution studies with kinetic behavior evaluation. The scanning electron microscope images showed smooth nanofiber surfaces with a mean diameter of 372 nm. Moreover, both differential scanning calorimetry and X-ray diffraction analysis confirmed the amorphous state of the prepared nanofibers. FT-IR results suggested that loratadine lost its original crystal structure by hydrogen bonding interactions. The fabricated nanofibrous drug samples demonstrated a remarkable 26-fold increase in solubility when compared to the pure drug in phosphate buffer at pH 7.4. Furthermore, dissolution studies showed that 66% of the drug from the nanofibrous mat was released in the first 10 min, which is significantly higher than the maximum of 4% drug release of the reference samples within the same time. Thus, Loratadine nanofibers can be considered as an alternative dosage form with improved physicochemical properties.
Keywords: 3D printing; Electrospinning; Loratadine; Nanofibers; Physicochemical analysis.
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