PVA-Ketoprofen Nanofibers Manufacturing Using Electrospinning Method for Dissolution Improvement of Ketoprofen

摘要

Ketoprofen is a NSAIDs agent which has analgesic and anti inflammation effects. Ketoprofen is classified into class II in the biopharmaceutical classification system that has high permeability but low solubility. Hence, the absorption rate of this substance is governed by its dissolution rate. Electrospinning is a method that combines solid dispersion technology and nanotechnology. This method can be selected to enhance the dissolution rate of active substances. The aim of this research is to improve the dissolution rate of ketoprofen through the preparation of polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) nanofibers containing ketoprofen using electrospinning process. Preparation of the nanofibers with various PVA-ketoprofen ratios, flow rates, and PVA concentrations in the solution was accomplished using electrospinning instrument. Casting solid dispersion film were also prepared by a solvent evaporation method and used as a reference. The dissolution rates of ketoprofen from nanofibers, casting films, and pure ketoprofen were conducted in HCl pH 1.2 medium at 37 °C. Characterization of nanofibers was carried out by using Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM) and X-ray Diffraction (XRD). Nanofibers with PVA/ketoprofen of 1:1 (in the ratio of w/w) showed a significant improvement in dissolution (p<0.05) compared to the pure ketoprofen. Meanwhile, nanofibers obtained from a solution containing 7.5 % PVA (w/v) and 4 ml/h in flow rate showed the best dissolution rate improvement and significantly different (p<0.05) with either the casting film or the pure ketoprofen. The improvement of ketoprofen dissolution was due to the increase of surface area of nanofibers and the change of ketoprofen from crystalline into amorphous form. The electrospinning technique can therefore be used to improve the dissolution rate of ketoprofen through the PVA-ketoprofen nanofibers formation by choosing the appropriate polymer concentration and manufacturing process.