Fast dissolving oral films for drug delivery prepared from chitosan/pullulan electrospinning nanofibers

In this study, Chitosan/pullulan composite nanofiber fast dissolving oral films (FDOFs) were prepared via electrospinning technology. The ratio of chitosan/pullulan (C/P) had an influence on solution property and nanofiber morphology, with the increase of chitosan, viscosity and conductivity of solutions increased, the morphology obtained by scanning electron microscopy indicated that the diameter of nanofibers decreased initially then increased. The Fourier transform infrared spectra indicated hydrogen bond interactions between chitosan and pullulan molecules. X-ray diffraction analysis proved that electrospinning process decreased the crystallinity of materials. Thermal analysis showed that melting point, degradation temperature and glass transition temperature increased with the addition of chitosan content in the FDOF. Water solubility test proved that the FDOF can dissolve in water completely within 60 s. Finally, in order to prove its practicability in future, a model drug of aspirin was encapsulated in the FDOF successfully.