Electrospinning of cyclodextrin/linalool-inclusion complex nanofibers: Fast-dissolving nanofibrous web with prolonged release and antibacterial activity

•Polymer-free CD/linalool-IC-NF were successfully produced via electrospinning.•CD/linalool-IC-NFs dissolved in water within two seconds.•A significant amount of linalool (45-89%) was preserved in CD/linalool-IC-NFs.•MβCD/linalool-IC-NF released only 14% of linalool at the end of 50 days at 25 °C.•CD/linalool-IC-NFs inhibited the growth of E. coli and S. aureus bacteria.

The volatility and limited water solubility of linalool is a critical issue to be solved. Here, we demonstrated the electrospinning of polymer-free nanofibrous webs of cyclodextrin/linalool-inclusion complex (CD/linalool-IC-NFs). Three types of modified cyclodextrin (HPβCD, MβCD, and HPγCD) were used to electrospin CD/linalool-IC-NFs. Free-standing CD/linalool-IC-NFs facilitate maximum loading of linalool up to 12% (w/w). A significant amount of linalool (45-89%) was preserved in CD/linalool-IC-NFs, due to enhancement in the thermal stability of linalool by cyclodextrin inclusion complexation. Remarkably, CD/linalool-IC-NFs have shown fast-dissolving characteristics in which these nanofibrous webs dissolved in water within two seconds. Furthermore, linalool release from CD/linalool-IC-NFs inhibited growth of model Gram-negative (E. coli) and Gram-positive (S. aureus) bacteria to a great extent. Briefly, characteristics of liquid linalool have been preserved in a solid nanofiber form and designed CD/linalool-IC-NFs confer high loading capacity, enhanced shelf life and strong antibacterial activity of linalool.

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