Original article Performance and drug release studies of poly (e-caprolactone)/c-poly (glutamic acid) fibrous membranes Henan Zhan 1 , Shan Liu 2 , Xiyu Hu 1 and Dong Jiang 1 Abstract Fibrous membranes of poly(e-caprolactone)/g-poly(glutamicacid) (PCL/g-PGA) composites were successfully produced via an electrospinning process. In doing so, the water solubility of florfenicol (FF) could be enhanced and the drug release properties of FF could be controlled. The mechanical, morphologic, and thermal properties of the fibrous membranes of PCL/g-PGA were studied by using an electronic single fiber strength machine, scanning electron microscopy, and differ- ential scanning calorimetry. The wettability of the fibrous membranes of PCL/g-PGA was also measured as discussed in the subsequent section. Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy was applied in the structural analysis of the PCL/g- PGA-FF fibrous membranes. The results indicated that FF was well blended in the composite membranes of PCL/g-PGA. In vitro dissolution tests showed that PCL/g-PGA (85/15; 8%) as both a biodegradable and biocompatible blend may improve the solubility of FF. Therefore, fibrous membranes of PCL/g-PGA may represent ideal materials for the con- trolled drug release in various clinical applications. Keywords florfenicol, electrospun, g-poly(glutamic acid), poly(e-caprolactone), drug-release In recent years, controlled drug release applications have attracted significant attention in the fields of medicine, biology, agriculture, environmental protec- tion, etc. For this purpose, biodegradable polymer materials are often used as drug delivery systems. Commonly used biodegradable polymers are aliphatic polyesters, such as poly(lactic acid) (PLA), poly(gluta- mic acid) (PGA), poly(e-caprolactone) (PCL), and their copolymers. 1,2 Other materials, including amphiphilic block copolymers, such as poly(ethylene glycol)-b- poly(lactic acid) (PEG-b-PLA) or PEG-b-PCL and g- PGA, are also attractive for the use in drug delivery systems. 3–9 For example, PCL, is a semicrystalline aliphatic poly- ester (T m & 60  C; T g & 60  C) with strong mechanical properties. 10 Because of its biocompatibility and bio- degradability characteristics through hydrolysis of its ester linkages under physiological conditions, PCL has been widely used in tissue engineering, 11,12 drug carriers systems, 13 engineered skin, 14–16 and scaffolds for sup- porting the growth of fibroblasts and osteoblasts. 13,17 Poly(g-glutamic acid) (g-PGA), a microorganism metabolite produced by several bacillus species, con- sists of g-carboxy-linked glutamate residues. 18 Because of the superior biodegradability, biocompatibility, and water retention characteristics 19 , g-PGA and its deriva- tives have been extensively used in drug delivery, 20,21 wound care dressing, 22 and tissue engineering applica- tions. 23,24 One outstanding characteristic of g-PGA is the abundance of free carboxyl groups, which provide excellent hydrophilicity properties and the desired func- tionality through facile modification of the carboxyl residues. 25 These properties of g-PGA render the mater- ial ideal as a drug delivery carrier. 1 Engineering Research Center of High Performance Plastics, Ministry of Education, College of Chemistry, Jilin University, P.R. China 2 College of Materials Science and Engineering, Jilin University, P.R. China Corresponding author: Dong Jiang, Jilin University, Qianjin Street, 2699 Chang Chun, JiLin 130012, China. Email: jiangdonghxy@163.com Textile Research Journal 0(00) 1–16 ! The Author(s) 2018 Reprints and permissions: sagepub.co.uk/journalsPermissions.nav DOI: 10.1177/0040517518775923 journals.sagepub.com/home/trj