Electrospun nanofibers for drug delivery applications: Methods and mechanism

Electrospinning procedures such as blend electrospinning, coaxial electrospinning, and emulsion electrospinning have been used for the fabrication of electrospun nanofibers (ENFs) for biomedical applications. These ENFs are attracted great interest especially in drug delivery applications due to their small size, high surface area-to-volume, and porosity. The aim of this review is to focus on the controlled release mechanism among the different electrospinning methods, and the selectivity of hydrophilic, water-soluble polymers as a carrier for drug. The mechanism for the drug delivery depends mainly on the method of drug loading, polymeric interactions, and the nature of polymer swelling, erosion, or degradation. This review compressed on the literature survey about the fabrication of nanofibers by different electrospinning methods, factors affecting the nanofiber morphologies, selectivity of polymeric blends for successful controlled release behavior, and the mechanism involved in the drug release steps.