Slow release of levofloxacin conjugated on silica nanoparticles from poly(ɛ-caprolactone) nanofibers

Composite levofloxacin (LVF)/nanofibers have been fabricated through electrospinning. Slow release was achieved by covalently binding LVF to mesoporous silica nanoparticles (MSN) through a cleavable thioester bond and then blending the MSN into poly(ϵ-caprolactone) (PCL) nanofibers. Conjugated LVF–MSN was characterized by FTIR, DSC, TGA, and solid-state C13 NMR. The structure of composite nanofibers was studied by scanning electron microscopy (SEM). Drug release profiles showed that burst release was decreased from 59% in the uniform PCL/LVF electrospun mats to 20% in the PCL/conjugated LVF–MSN mats after 1 day in phosphate buffer at 37°C, and gradual release in the latter was observed over the next 13 days. This slow release is due to the cleavable bond between LVF and MSN that can be hydrolyzed over a time and results in slow release of LVF. The results indicate that confining drug-conjugated MSN into nanofibers are effective ways to slow down the burst release of the drug.