Free Surface Electrospinning of Microemulsions Containing Vitamin E

In research and development of pharmaceutical products, an estimated 90% of active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs) are insoluble or partially soluble in water. Due to poor solubility, these APIs exhibit poor bioavailability in solid dosage forms. To improve the release rate of APIs, free surface electrospinning of a microemulsion was considered as a means of producing submicron size domains of API dispersed in an amorphous excipient. Microemulsions containing a poor solubility API, vitamin E, and an excipient, Polyvinylpyrrolidone, are electrospun to produce a highly porous material with a high surface area, which promotes rapid drug release. The materials were characterized by scanning electron microscopy and high performance liquid chromatography to determine the morphology of the fibers and the bioavailability of the final material. The final product contained significant amounts of Vitamin E encapsulated within the excipient, and release rates were significantly improved over commercial products. In addition to improving the bioavailability of APIs, this technique may be utilized to streamline the downstream processing of pharmaceuticals, resulting in lower operating cost and improved uniformity over current batch manufacturing techniques.