Summary
Carvedilol is a poorly water-soluble cardiovascular drug whose slow dissolution limits its absorption. This study formulates carvedilol together with the water-soluble polymer poly(ethylene oxide) (PEO) into two dosage forms — solvent-cast films and electrospun nanofibres — using water or ethanol/water as benign solvents, and compares them. Infrared spectroscopy confirmed no chemical interaction between the drug and PEO, while differential scanning calorimetry showed the carvedilol had dissolved into the polymer and altered its crystallinity, i.e. it was dispersed rather than present as separate crystals. Both formats released carvedilol faster than the pure drug, and the release rate differed markedly between the cast films and the electrospun fibres — highlighting electrospinning as a way to tune and accelerate the dissolution of poorly soluble drugs.