Electrospun xanthan gum-chitosan nanofibers as delivery carrier of hydrophobic bioactives

Viscoelastic gels of xanthan gum-chitosan(X-Ch) in formic acid were electrospun to produce nanofibers, stable in aqueous media, for the encapsulation and release of curcumin (Cu). After 120 h, the nanofibers released lower amount of curcumin (∼20%) at pH 2.2 comparatively to the release in neutral media (∼50%), suggesting that X-Ch nanofibers could be used as a carrier for the encapsulation of hydrophobic bioactive compounds with long-term pH-stimulated release properties.