Abstract
A coaxial electrospun technique to fabricate core‐shell microfibers (MFs) for drug delivery application is described. In one‐step, Paclitaxel (PTX)‐loaded poly(L‐lactic acid‐co‐ε‐caprolactone) (75:25) (P(LLA‐CL)(core/shell)) was electrospun into MFs using 2,2,2‐trifluoroethanol as the solvent. The physical and chemical properties of electrospun fibers were characterized by various techniques, such as scanning electron microscopy, transmission electron microscopy, X‐ray diffractometry, and Fourier‐transform infrared. The fiber diameter depended on both the polymer concentration and the flow ratio of PTX to P(LLA‐CL). The encapsulation efficiency and in vitro release profile were measured using high performance liquid chromatography methods. PTX released from the MFs in a short burst over 24 h followed by very slow release over the following 60 days. In addition, the cytotoxicity of PTX‐loaded P(LLA‐CL) MFs was evaluated using 3‐[4,5‐dimehyl‐2‐thiazolyl]‐2, 5‐diphenyl‐2H‐tetrazolium bromide assay on HeLa cell lines. These results indicate that PTX could be released from P(LLA‐CL) fibers in a steady manner and effectively inhibit the activity of HeLa cells. © 2009 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Biomed Mater Res, 2009.