Biodegradable PCL–PLGA Electrospun Nanofibers for Localized Cancer Therapy

Authors

• Rahul Tiwari, The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley School of Medicine
• Pranav, The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley School of Medicine
• Joel Delossantos, The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley School of Medicine
• Eswara N.H.K. Ghali, The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley School of Medicine
• Luis Chavez, The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley School of MedicineFollow
• Vishal Sharad Chaudhari, The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley School of Medicine
• Songyang Han, The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley
• Subhash Chauhan, The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley School of MedicineFollow
• Murali Yallapu, The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley School of MedicineFollow

Document Type

Article

Publication Date

5-18-2026

Abstract

Localized chemotherapy offers a promising strategy to improve therapeutic efficacy while minimizing the systemic toxicity of conventional cancer treatment, particularly following tumor resection. Electrospun nanofibers are well suited for this purpose due to their high porosity, extracellular matrix-mimicking architecture, and capacity for localized drug release. In this study, electrospun nanofibers based on PCL and PLGA were developed for localized cancer therapy. Three distinct nanofibrous architectures were fabricated: PCL nanofibers, PCL−PLGA blended nanofibers, and PCL−PLGA multilayered (tetra-layered) nanofibers, and their encapsulation efficiency was determined by high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). Scanning electron microscopy confirmed uniform, bead-free nanofibrous morphologies, while Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy and thermal analyses verified effective polymer blending, molecular interaction, drug incorporation, and enhanced thermal stability. The incorporation of PLGA altered the degradation rate and surface wettability of the nanofibers, enabling modulation of drug release behavior. Biological evaluations demonstrated acceptable hemocompatibility, favorable interactions with RAW 264.7 macrophages, and high cytocompatibility across all formulations. Importantly, nanofiber architecture significantly influenced release profiles (curcumin dye as a model), with multilayered or blend nanofibers exhibiting reduced burst release and prolonged drug delivery compared to single-polymer systems. In addition, proliferation clonogenicity and western blotting assays confirm their corresponding high cytotoxic responses (docetaxel as a model). Overall, this work demonstrates that architectural and compositional engineering of PCL−PLGA electrospun nanofibers provides a robust and adaptable platform for localized, sustained cancer therapy.

Comments

PMC Copyright notice

Recommended Citation

Tiwari, R., Pranav, Delossantos, J., Ghali, E. N. H. K., Chavez, L. A., Chaudhari, V. S., Han, S., Chauhan, S. C., & Yallapu, M. M. (2026). Biodegradable PCL-PLGA Electrospun Nanofibers for Localized Cancer Therapy. ACS applied bio materials, 9(10), 4579–4593. https://doi.org/10.1021/acsabm.6c00206

First Page

4579

Last Page

4593

Publication Title

ACS Applied Bio Materials

DOI

10.1021/acsabm.6c00206

Academic Level

faculty

Mentor/PI Department

Immunology and Microbiology