Fast dissolving trimethoprim/polyvinyl alcohol nanofibers prepared by electrospinning and evaluation as a new drug delivery system.

Solubility is one of the important parameters to find out desired concentration of drug in systemic circulation for intended pharmacological properties. More than 40% NCEs (new chemical entities) developed in pharmaceutical industry are practically insoluble in water. Any drug to be absorbed must be present in the form of solution at the site of absorption. Hence solubility has turned to a major challenge for formulation scientist.
In this research polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) fibers loaded with Trimethoprim (TMP) was fabricated by electrospinning and investigated as potential oral fast-dissolving films. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) images showed that the fibers take the form of uniform cylinders with smooth surfaces and diameter less than 600 nm, and contain the drugs in the amorphous form. Drug–polymer intermolecular interactions were evidenced by infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR) and differential thermal analysis (DTA). Disintegration and drug released times, when they added to artificial saliva, were 30 s and 90 s respectively and during this time more than 90 % of drug was released. In-vitro bacterial inhibition test was also carried out to determine the relative activity of the released antibiotic. The data reported herein clearly demonstrate that these fast-dissolving films could be suitable candidates for administration of TMP, especially for children, aged people and patients with swallowing difficulties.