Controlled delivery of dexamethasone and betamethasone from PLA electrospun fibers: A comparative study

[Display omitted] •PLA electrospun fiber was successfully loaded with dexamethasone and betamethasone.•Dexamethasone-incorporated PLA nanofibers presented higher mechanical strength.•PLA betamethasone electrospun fiber mats displayed better sustained drug release. Drug-loaded poly (lactic acid) (PLA) fibers were successfully prepared by electrospinning from the corresponding chloroform/dimethylformamide (7:3 v/v) solutions containing different amounts of dexamethasone acetate (DEX) or betamethasone 17-valerate (BET), used as steroid anti-inflammatory agents. In addition, the mechanical performance as well as the morphology of these fiber mats were investigated. Thus, the morphology of fiber mats composed of neat PLA and PLA containing DEX and BET was homogeneous with bead-free surface, as indicated by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) while the presence of DEX in the fiber mats resulted in significant increase of the tensile strength. Then, the release of these drugs from the electrospun mats was evaluated by UV-VIS spectroscopy showing that BET-loaded PLA presented better release profile than DEX-loaded PLA. After a burst release of around 34 and 28% for DEX- and BET-loaded PLA, respectively, during the first 5 h, both drugs were continuously released reaching a maximum of around 60 and 80% after 168 h for membranes loaded with 14% of DEX and BET, respectively. Moreover, the drug release efficiency was compared with PLA electrospun fiber mats having adsorbed drug prepared by solution casting. In summary, we have demonstrated that PLA/BET and PLA/DEX electrospun membranes present a promising drug delivery system for sustained release in topical applications.