In vitro testing of flash-frozen sublingual membranes for storage and reproducible permeability studies of macromolecular drugs from solution or nanofiber mats.

Sublingual drug delivery allows systemic delivery of drug without difficulties connected with the gastrointestinal pathway. We developed a new simple protocol for easy-to-use processing and storage of porcine sublingual mucosal membrane for in vitro studies using "flash freezing" in liquid nitrogen. All the dextrans used as mucosal membrane integrity and permeability markers permeated only slowly through sublingual mucosa illustrating usability both the "fresh" and "flash frozen" sublingual membranes whereas conventional cold storage "frozen" membranes have shown significantly higher permeabilities for macromolecules due to the sustained damage.

Protein nanocoatings on synthetic polymeric nanofibrous membranes designed as carriers for skin cells.

Protein-coated resorbable synthetic polymeric nanofibrous membranes are promising for the fabrication of advanced skin substitutes. We fabricated electrospun polylactic acid and poly(lactide--glycolic acid) nanofibrous membranes and coated them with fibrin or collagen I. Fibronectin was attached to a fibrin or collagen nanocoating, in order further to enhance the cell adhesion and spreading.

The potential applications of fibrin-coated electrospun polylactide nanofibers in skin tissue engineering.

Fibrin plays an important role during wound healing and skin regeneration. It is often applied in clinical practice for treatment of skin injuries or as a component of skin substitutes. We prepared electrospun nanofibrous membranes made from poly(l-lactide) modified with a thin fibrin nanocoating.

Effects of fiber density and plasma modification of nanofibrous membranes on the adhesion and growth of HaCaT keratinocytes.

It may be possible to regulate the cell colonization of biodegradable polymer nanofibrous membranes by plasma treatment and by the density of the fibers. To test this hypothesis, nanofibrous membranes of different fiber densities were treated by oxygen plasma with a range of plasma power and exposure times. Scanning electron microscopy and mechanical tests showed significant modification of nanofibers after plasma treatment.

Electrospinning of diosmin from aqueous solutions for improved dissolution and oral absorption.

A nanofibrous membrane carrier for nearly water insoluble drug diosmin was formulated. The aim of this study was to evaluate the drug release and dissolution properties in an aqueous buffer of pH 7.8, and to compare the suitability of the drug carrier with the available drug forms and screen diosmin absorption extent.

Polylactide nanofibers with hydroxyapatite as growth substrates for osteoblast-like cells.

Various types of nanofibers are increasingly used in tissue engineering, mainly for their ability to mimic the architecture of tissue at the nanoscale. We evaluated the adhesion, growth, viability, and differentiation of human osteoblast-like MG 63 cells on polylactide (PLA) nanofibers prepared by needle-less electrospinning and loaded with 5 or 15 wt % of hydroxyapatite (HA) nanoparticles. On day 7 after seeding, the cell number was the highest on samples with 15 wt % of HA.

Electrospun drug loaded membranes for sublingual administration of sumatriptan and naproxen.

Sublingual administration of active pharmaceutical substances is in principle favourable for rapid onset of drug action, ready accessibility and avoidance of first pass metabolism. This administration could prove very useful in the treatment of migraines, thus two frequently used drugs were selected for our study. Sumatriptan succinate, naproxen, and its salt as well as combinations of these were incorporated into nanofibrous membranes via the electrospinning process.

Controlled gentamicin release from multi-layered electrospun nanofibrous structures of various thicknesses.

Polyvinyl alcohol nanofibers incorporating the wide spectrum antibiotic gentamicin were prepared by Nanospider™ needleless technology. A polyvinyl alcohol layer, serving as a drug reservoir, was covered from both sides by polyurethane layers of various thicknesses. The multilayered structure of the nanofibers was observed using scanning electron microscopy, the porosity was characterized by mercury porosimetry, and nitrogen adsorption/desorption measurements were used to determine specific surface areas.