Production and characterization of latanoprost drug loaded pva nanofibrous mat, and evaluation of its drug release performance for glaucoma treatment

The aim of this study is to successfully load the anti-glaucoma drug latanoprost on the nanofiber surface obtained from polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) polymer by electrospinning technique and to investigate drug release performance from the nanofiber structure. For this purpose, nanofiber surfaces were produced from PVA polymer with different parameters and the drug was incorporated into the surfaces with the most ideal production parameters. In SEM analysis, that was observed that drug-loaded and cross-linked nanofiber surfaces had a thickening in the fiber diameters. The contact angle of PVA nanofiber surface was 79,17°, and the contact angle of latanoprost loaded PVA nanofiber surface was 114,97°. The amount of latanoprost released from the nanofiber to in vitro environment was analyzed by high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) method. Release kinetics of latanoprost from nanofiber structure; zero-order, first-order, Higuchi and Korsmeyer-Peppas mathematical models were studied together. Controlled drug release was detected up to 28 days from cross-linked drug-loaded PVA nanofiber surfaces. Results showed that the produced nanofiber surfaces have the potential to be used as a biomaterial that can release latanoprost drug for use in the treatment of glaucoma.