Electrospun API-loaded mixed matrix membranes for controlled release

The development of biocompatible membrane materials capable of delivering active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs) over a fixed time period offers significant advantages to the pharmaceutical and biomedical industries alike. In addition the incorporation of APIs within polymeric materials potentially allows for the formation of amorphous solid dispersions (ASDs), which have shown enhanced bioavailability, increased dissolution profiles and enhanced adsorption into the blood stream. Mixed matrix membranes (MMMs) have been at the forefront of such developments, however manufacturing MMMs with consistent batch to batch physical characteristics has proved challenging thereby significantly impeding the use of such materials by the pharmaceutical sector. This article describes the development, for the first time, of API and molecular sieve loaded mixed matrix membranes (MMMs) via electrospinning techniques. The developed membranes displayed consistent and controllable physical properties and more efficient API release relative to membranes prepared using traditional casting techniques. Mathematical modelling disclosed that the membranes generated via electrospinning show excellent correlation between experimental and predicted API release kinetics thereby paving the way for the development of MMMs for both pharmaceutical and biomedical applications.