Sustained release formulations of celecoxib (CX) would be effective in overcoming its side effects. In this research, biodegradable/biocompatible nanofiber electrospun mats of polyvinyl alcohol (PVA), with 3% and 8% w/w of CX, and polylactic acid (PLA), with 8% and 16% of CX, were used for sustained release formulations of CX. After optimize condition, the best solvent for electrospinning of PVA with CX was water/acetic acid 60% v/v and for PLA system it was chloroform/methanol 20% v/v. The morphology of the nanofiers, distribution of the drug inside the nanofiers and possible reactions between polymers and CX in nanofiers were studied by scanning electron microscopy, X-ray diffraction and fourier transform infrared spectroscopy technics. In vitro CX release from the nanofiber mats were evaluated in solution of HCl (pH = 1.5), citrate buffer (pH = 3) and carbonate buffer (pH = 8) by using UV-Vis spectroscopy technic. Drug release was dependent to polymer type, CX percent and release environment. CX release in nanofiber mats of PLA with 8% and 16% w/w of CX, also PVA with 8% and 3% w/w of CX was increased, respectively. Korsemeyer-Peppas release exponent (n) indicates that CX release mechanism was Fickian diffusion for formulations of PVA nanofiber mats and non-Fickian diffusion for formulations of PLA nanofiber mats. Evaluation of CX release kinetics indicated that Higuchi model was the best-fit release from all the formulations of PVA nanofiber mats and CX release kinetics from all formulations of PLA nanofiber mats were not same.
