Core-shell Nanofibers of Silk Fibroin/Polycaprolactone-Clindamycin: Study on Nanofibers Structure and Controlled Release Behavior

Biocompatible nanofibers with core-shell structures based on natural polymers such as silk fibroin have multiple applications as tissue engineering scaffolds and drug delivery systems. In this study, core-shell nanofibers composed of silk fibroin as shell and blends of clindamycin and polycaprolactone as core was fabricated using coaxial electrospinning technique. The effects of variation in concentration of core and shell polymer solutions, electrical conductivity and viscosity of solutions on the final morphology, average diameter of nanofibers and release behavior of clindamycin were studied. The fabricated nanofibers and their drug release behaviors were evaluated using Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, ultraviolet spectroscopy, scanning and transmission electron microscope techniques. The results showed that concentration of shell solution have more effect on the final average diameter of core-shell nanofiber in compare to core solution. It is concluded that as the concentration of both polycaprolactone in the core and silk fibroin in the shell increased, the amount of released clindamycin from fabricated core-shell nanofibers showed decreasing trend.