Probing nanoscale features of electrospun amorphous solid dispersions

Electrospinning allows the formation of ultrathin films with great flexibility formed by polymer fibres of microscale width. The incorporation of drug into these fibres can enable the formation of amorphous solid dispersions (ASDs) in which drug is dispersed within the polymer matrix to inhibit the formation of crystalline forms which have reduced solubility. It has been found that electrospun ASDs which don't exhibit evidence of crystallinity by XRD do however contain nanoscale phase-separated domains of drug which are detectable by SANS. These domains become evident when samples are doped with D2O to generate high contrast between solvated polymer and drug domain. This study will use SANS to resolve the spatiotemporal evolution of these domains during dissolution in D2O with a view to linking polymer properties and drug chemistry to performance as a drug delivery vehicle.