Monodisperse Nanofibrous Microparticles Comprising Curcumin–Eudragit S100 Nanofibers for pH‐Dependent Oral Drug Delivery

ABSTRACT Designing and preparing pH‐sensitive oral drug delivery systems is a promising approach to enhance the drug's stability while controlled release. In this study, different dosage forms comprising Eudragit S100:Curcumin (ES100:Cur) were prepared by (1) electrospinning monolayer sheets (ES100:Cur electrospun sheet [ES]), (2) microcutting over the ES100:Cur ES to fabricate monolayer nanofibrous microparticles (MoNaMi), and (3) casting the ES100:Cur to have ES100:Cur film. These structures were investigated in terms of morphology, physicochemical properties, thermal response, and drug release at acidic/alkaline pH. The results indicated that the release of Cur at acidic conditions was the least for MoNaMi compared to other samples. The morphology and mechanical studies indicated that the presence of Cur reduces fiber diameter and increases the tensile strength. Due to the high porosity of nanofibers, the ES was more hydrophilic than the film. Such differences between fibers and films have led to lower efficacy of electrospun pH‐dependent nanofibers than the equivalent films. According to the outcomes and the high protection of the drug (under gastric conditions) in the MoNaMi construct, we believe that ES100‐based MoNaMi is a practical option for the efficient dual use of pH‐dependent nanofibers as an enteric coating and drug carrier for oral drug delivery applications.