Electrospun polyvinylidene fluoride nanofibrous mats as the carrier for drug delivery system of benzocaine and its complex with β-cyclodextrin

Nanofibrous mats (NFMs) and cyclodextrins (CDs) play a vital role in drug releasing systems. Generally CDs are used to enhance the drug release profile, water solubility, stability and so on to any molecule which can carry inside the CDs cavity through the formation of inclusion complexes. In this research paper, the benzocaine (BNC) is chosen as a reference drug molecule and electrospun PVdF nanofibrous mats (esPVdF NFMs) as a fibrous matrix to carry out the drug releasing ability. BNC is interacted with β-cyclodextrin (β-CD) to form an inclusion complexed product (BNC:β-CD-IC) and then PVdF NFMs is soaked in it to incorporate the inclusion complexed product on the surface. The soaking of PVdF NFMs in the BNC solution without β-CD is also carried out for a comparative study. Our aim was to analyze the drug release profile of BNC from BNC/PVdF and BNC:β-CD/PVdF NFMs. The characterization of BNC/PVdF NFMs in the presence and absence of β-CD is analysed with the help of UV–visible, fluorescence, lifetime decay, Fourier Transform InfraRed, Fourier Transform-Raman, powder X-Ray diffractogram and Scanning electron microscopic measurements. Selective stretching frequency of BNC molecule is changed for the NFMs with and without β-CD, evident the encapsulation of BNC into the β-CD cavity on the NFMs. SEM images showed that the BNC:β-CD is mostly occupied in the surface of the PVdF NFMs. Crystallinity of BNC is completely lost in both the NFMs. The release study of BNC in buffer solution elucidate that the PVdF/BNC:β-CD-IC NFMs have higher releasing ability of BNC than the BNC/PVdF NFMs due to the solubility enhancement of BNC by the complexation of β-CD.