Influence of shell compositions of solution blown PVP/PCL core–shell fibers on drug release and cell growth

Developing a facile means of controlling drug release is of utmost interest in drug delivery systems. In this study, core–shell structured nanofibers containing a water-soluble porogen were fabricated via solution blow spinning, to be used as drug-loaded bioactive tissue scaffolds. Hydrophilic polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP) and hydrophobic poly(ε-caprolactone) (PCL) were chosen to produce the core and the shell compartments of the fiber, respectively. In the core, a hydrophilic sulforhodamine B (SRB) dye was loaded as a model drug. In the PCL shell, two kinds of PVP with different molecular weights (40 kDa and 1300 kDa) were added, and the influence of PVP leaching on the SRB release and cell growth was investigated. The monolithic PCL-shelled fibers displayed a sustained SRB release with a weak burst effect. The addition of PVP in the shell induced a phase separation, forming microscale PVP domains. The PVP domain, acting as a porogen, was leached out in the medium and, as a result, the burst release of SRB was promoted. This burst effect was more prominent with the lower molecular weight PVP. The biocompatibility of the core–shell fibers was evaluated with human epidermal keratinocytes (HEK) by a cell viability assay and microscopic observation of cell proliferation. The HEK cells on fibers with a PVP/PCL composite shell formed self-assembled spherical clusters, displaying higher cell viability and proliferation than those on the monolithic PCL-shelled fibers that induced HEK cell growth in two-dimensional monolayers. The results demonstrate that the presence of hydrophilic porogens on tissue scaffolds can accelerate drug release and enhance cell proliferation by increasing surface wettability, roughness and porosity. The findings of this study provide a basic insight into the construction of bioactive three-dimensional tissue scaffolds.