The engineering, drug release, and in vitro evaluations of the PLLA/HPC/ Calendula Officinalis electrospun nanofibers optimized by Response Surface Methodology

Pegah Momeni; Maryam Nourisefat; Arman Farzaneh; Mohammad Shahrousvand; Mohammad Hossein Abdi

doi:10.1016/j.heliyon.2023.e23218

The engineering, drug release, and in vitro evaluations of the PLLA/HPC/ Calendula Officinalis electrospun nanofibers optimized by Response Surface Methodology

Heliyon. 2023 Dec 3;10(1):e23218. doi: 10.1016/j.heliyon.2023.e23218. eCollection 2024 Jan 15.

Authors

Pegah Momeni¹, Maryam Nourisefat², Arman Farzaneh², Mohammad Shahrousvand³, Mohammad Hossein Abdi⁴

Affiliations

¹ Faculty of Polymer Engineering, Sahand University of Technology, Tabriz, Iran.
² Department of polymer engineering and color technology, Amirkabir University of Technology, Tehran, Iran.
³ Caspian Faculty of Engineering, College of Engineering, University of Tehran, Rezvanshahr, P.O. Box: 43841-119, Guilan, Iran.
⁴ School of Chemical and polymer Engineering, College of Engineering, University of Tehran, Tehran, Iran.

Abstract

A system based on poly(l-lactic acid) (PLLA) and hydroxypropyl cellulose (HPC) was considered in this study to achieve electrospun mats with outstanding properties and applicability in biomedical engineering. A novel binary solvent system of chloroform/N,N-dimethylformamide (CF/DMF:70/30) was utilized to minimize the probable phase separation between the polymeric components. Moreover, Response Surface Methodology (RSM) was employed to model/optimize the process. Finally, to scrutinize the ability of the complex in terms of drug delivery, Calendula Officinalis (Marigold) extract was added to the solution of the optimal sample (Opt.PH), and then the set was electrospun (PHM). As a result, the presence of Marigold led to higher values of fiber diameter (262 ± 34 nm), pore size (483 ± 102 nm), and surface porosity (81.0 ± 7.3 %). As this drug could also prohibit the micro-scale phase separation, the PHM touched superior tensile strength and Young modulus of 11.3 ± 1.1 and 91.2 ± 4.2 MPa, respectively. Additionally, the cumulative release data demonstrated non-Fickian diffusion with the Korsmeyer-Peppas exponent and diffusion coefficient of n = 0.69 and D = 2.073 × 10^-14 cm²/s, respectively. At the end stage, both the Opt.PH and PHM mats manifested satisfactory results regarding the hydrophilicity and cell viability/proliferation assessments, reflecting their high potential to be used in regenerative medicine applications.

Keywords: Biomedical applications; Calendula Officinalis (marigold) extract; Electrospun nanofibers; Hydroxypropyl cellulose (HPC); Poly (l-lactic acid) (PLLA); Response surface methodology (RSM).