Due to the relative ease of producing nanofibers with a core–shell structure, emulsion electrospinning has been investigated intensively in making nanofibrous drug delivery systems for controlled and sustained release. Predictions of drug release rates from the poly (d,l-lactic-co-glycolic acid) (PLGA) produced via emulsion electrospinning can be a very difficult task due to the complexity of the system. A computational finite element methodology was used to calculate the diffusion mass transport of Rhodamine B (fluorescent drug model). Degradation effects and hydrophobicity (partitioning phenomenon) at the fiber/surrounding interface were included in the models. The results are validated by experiments where electrospun PLGA nanofiber mats with different contents were used. A new approach to three-dimensional (3D) modeling of nanofibers is presented in this work. The authors have introduced two original models for diffusive drug release from nanofibers to the 3D surrounding medium discretized by continuum 3D finite elements: (1) A model with simple radial one-dimensional (1D) finite elements, and (2) a model consisting of composite smeared finite elements (CSFEs). Numerical solutions, compared to experiments, demonstrate that both computational models provide accurate predictions of the diffusion process and can therefore serve as efficient tools for describing transport inside a polymer fiber network and drug release to the surrounding porous medium.

In this study, a spray drying process of yarrow (Achillea millefolium L.) liquid extracts was optimized by using the response surface methodology. The study aimed to determine the influence of temperature (120-195?C), liquid flow rate (3-16.5 cm3 min-1) and dry matter content in the liquid extract (0.3-1.5 %) on the yield of the drying process, the total polyphenols content and the antioxidant activity of the dry powder. Under the tested conditions the yield varied dramatically and ranged from 8 to 75%, while the effects on the polyphenol content and antioxidant activity were lower. The optimized conditions for the maximum antioxidant activity and maximal yield of the dried extract were as follows: temperature of 130?C, liquid flow rate of 7.5 cm3 min-1 and dry matter content of 1.2%. Under the optimal conditions, the yield was 66 %, while there was a slight decrease in the polyphenol content in the dried extract as compared to that in the liquid extract (145 mg of gallic acid equivalents [GAE] per g of the total dry matter vs. 152 mg GAE g-1, respectively). Consequently, antioxidant activity of the dry powder was only slightly reduced as compared to that of the liquid extract (DPPH neutralization was 58 vs. 64 %, respectively). The dried yarrow powder preserved its antimicrobial activity against pathogenic bacteria Staphylococcus aureus (MIC value of 10 mg cm-3) and Pseudomonas aeruginosa (MIC value of 20 mg cm-3).