Green Electrospinning of Chitosan/Pectin Nanofibrous Films by the Incorporation of Cyclodextrin/Curcumin Inclusion Complexes: pH-Responsive Release and Hydrogel Features

Chitosan and pectin are abundantly found biopolymers in nature that are derived from renewable resources. On the other hand, thechemical structure of these biopolymers creates problems during theproduction of their nanofibrousfilms by the electrospinning technique. Inthis study, the electrospinning of the chitosan/pectin blend system wasfacilitated using natural, starch-derived cyclodextrin (hydroxypropyl-gamma-cyclo-dextrin (HP gamma CD)) molecules and nanofibrousfilms were generated with agreen approach in which there was no use of a carrier polymer or toxic solvent.The nanofibrousfilms obtained with different chitosan/pectin ratios showedhigh swelling (water uptake) property (similar to 1340 to 1510%), which suggested thehydrogel-forming capacity of these electrospunfilms. Here, the HP gamma CDmolecules were further utilized and curcumin, a well-known bioactivecompound, was encapsulated into HP gamma CD cavities by inclusion complexation.This time, HP gamma CD-curcumin inclusion complexes (ICs) were mixed with chitosan/pectin blends using the predetermined ratios,and freestanding nanofibrousfilms were successfully produced having an similar to 89% curcumin loading efficiency. The ultimatenanofibrousfilms demonstrated a pH-responsive release profile of curcumin in pH 5.4 and 7.4 media besides their high swellingfeature. Briefly, chitosan/pectin/CD-IC nanofibrousfilms can be a promising alternative to biomaterials produced with syntheticsources by holding the unique properties of biopolymers, CD, and nanofibers