Polycaprolactone/Cellulose Acetate/Polycaprolactone Scaffolds: Investigation of Absorption, Kinetics, and Controlled Release of Anticancer Drugs

Paclitaxel used to treat malignant tumors of cancer by controlling the release of the drug to the tumor cells at the exact time. Polycaprolactone (PCL) as a semi-crystalline polyester with a glass transition temperature and low melting point used as matrix and cellulose for fibrous layer. This polymer is easily processed at low temperatures, but due to its crystalline nature and strong hydrophobicity, the degradation of PCL is very slow. In this article, the anticancer drug is loaded into single-layer and three-layer cellulose acetate/polycaprolactone nanofibers and the amount of drug uptake, release behavior and release kinetics of the nanofibers are investigated. The resulting nanofibers were fabricated by electrospinning and freeze-drying to evaluate drug release and biocompatibility. Then, Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) showed the approximate diameter and length of the nanofibers as 300-400 nm. Functional group and chemical bonds of nanofibers were detected by Fourier Transform InfraRed  (FT-IR) spectroscopy analysis. Results have shown that the maximum degradation for PCL/CA + 15% D/PCL scaffold is 53% and 43% for the same scaffold by electrospinning method. The percentage of inflation increases as the concentration of PCL/CA in the scaffold increases. For the 5-minute time period, the percentage of inflation ranges from 14.29% for the PCL/CA+5%/PCL sample to 29.77% for the PCL/CA+15%/PCL sample. Similarly, for the 30-minute time period, the percentage of inflation ranges from 20.51% to 34.65% for the respective samples. The obtained results show slow and continuous release of the drug in vitro at 37°C and pH = 5.8, which can be used as a drug carrier in targeted treatment systems for anticancer drugs.