Optimizing Production, Characterization, and In Vitro Behavior of Silymarin-Eudragit Electrosprayed Fiber for...

Area of Science:

• Materials Science
• Pharmaceutical Sciences
• Biomedical Engineering

Background:

• Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD) affects 1.6 million Americans, with current treatments facing cost and side-effect challenges.
• Silymarin, a natural polyphenol, exhibits antioxidant and hepatoprotective properties, suggesting therapeutic potential for IBD.
• There is a need for innovative drug delivery systems to improve IBD management.

Purpose of the Study:

• To formulate a novel drug-polymer complex, SILS100-Electrofiber, using silymarin and Eudragit® S100 via electrospray.
• To optimize the electrospray process for enhanced surface area and microfiber encapsulation of silymarin.
• To evaluate the physicochemical properties, drug release kinetics, and antioxidant activity of the formulated complex.

Main Methods:

• Electrospray technique with optimized vertical setup (1:10 silymarin:Eudragit® S100).
• Characterization using UV Spectrophotometry, FTIR, SEM, and DSC.
• Evaluation of drug loading, apparent solubility, and antioxidant activity.

Main Results:

• Successful creation of fiber-like silymarin encapsulation (5-7 μm diameter).
• Demonstrated enhanced silymarin release in Simulated Intestinal Fluid (SIF) compared to Simulated Gastric Fluid (SGF).
• Confirmed drug loading, solubility, and retained antioxidant activity of the complex.

Conclusions:

• The electrospray method effectively produced a silymarin-polymer complex suitable for targeted drug delivery.
• The SILS100-Electrofiber complex shows potential for improved IBD treatment through enhanced release and antioxidant effects.
• This formulation approach offers a promising avenue for developing advanced drug delivery systems for chronic inflammatory conditions.