Design and development of non-woven nanofibers as drug delivery system

Abstract

The aim of this thesis was to design and develop non-woven nanofibers by electrospinning method for drug delivery application. Accordingly, new underutilized polymers were studied for drug delivery applications by blending with biopolymers, which are safe for the environment. All the nanofibers developed in this research work were subjected to characterization by various physicochemical method and their efficacy were studied by in vitro and in vivo analysis. In Chapter 1, we reviewed the literature on the nanofibers developed by electrospinning method and application in various field was explained. And the effect of parameters on nanofibers were explained briefly. Chapter 2 investigates the objectives and scope of the work carried out in this thesis. In Chapter 3, we prepared a non-woven nanofibers using the combination of hydrophobic polymers (PLA and PCL) and hydrophilic protein (EA) to understand its applicability in tissue engineering. Chapter 4 deals with the fabrication of hyaluronic acid nanofibers by blending with PHBV, HA and PEO and immobilized Curcumin and CDF to evaluate its anti-bacterial property. In the chapter 5, we developed a dual drug loaded nanofibers system using blends of neem oil based polyesteramide for wound healing application and to overcome bacterial resistance. Chapter 6 developed nanofibers by NPEA, PCL, and PLA embedded with SMN by electrospinning method for targeted drug delivery application. Chapter 7 summarises the overall work done in this thesis and proposes the area of research consideration for drug delivery applications. It also illustrates how nanofibers might be used to treat wound healing, tissue engineering, and drug delivery while overcoming the limitations of conventional treatments.