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Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD) is a chronic condition that affects approximately 1.6 million Americans. While current polyphenols for treating IBD can be expensive and cause unwanted side effects, there is an opportunity regarding a new drug/polymer formulation using silymarin and an electrospray procedure. Silymarin is a naturally occurring polyphenolic flavonoid antioxidant that has shown promising results as a pharmacological agent due to its antioxidant and hepatoprotective characteristics. This study aims to produce a drug–polymer complex named the SILS100-Electrofiber complex, using an electrospray system. The vertical set-up of the electrospray system was optimized at a 1:10 of silymarin and Eudragit® S100 polymer to enhance surface area and microfiber encapsulation. The SILS100-Electrofiber complex was evaluated using drug release kinetics via UV Spectrophotometry, Fourier-Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR), Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM), and Differential Scanning Calorimetry (DSC). Drug loading, apparent solubility, and antioxidant activity were also evaluated. The study was successful in creating fiber-like encapsulation of the silymarin drug with strand diameters ranging from 5–7 μm, with results showing greater silymarin release in Simulated Intestinal Fluid (SIF) compared to Simulated Gastric Fluid (SGF). Moving forward, this study aims to provide future insight into the formulation of drug–polymer complexes for IBD treatment and targeted drug release using electrospray and microencapsulation. 

The inflammation marker Interleukin 6 (IL-6) typically remains below 5 pg/mL in the serum of healthy individuals but can increase tenfold during inflammation in chronic conditions like COVID-19 and rheumatoid arthritis, as well as acute conditions like sepsis. This study is focused on the rapid detection of IL-6 to monitor both chronic and acute diseases. The novel sensor, designed with gold-coated micropyramids on the electrodes, was fabricated using the two-photon polymerization method, enabling low-volume sensing capabilities (2-3 μL). The micropyramids were surface functionalized with interleukin-6 antibodies towards developing an affinity biosensor specific to the physiological relevant range of IL-6 of 5.1 and 18.8 pg/mL in mild inflammation. Sensing was achieved by measuring impedance changes associated with IL-6 binding to the antibodies on the micropyramids interfaced using electrochemical impedance spectroscopy. It was observed that the signals from the lowest detection concentration was enhanced by 3 times at 1500 hz when the 532 nm green laser was incident on the micropyramids. This innovative approach can be expanded to the detection of cytokines not only in serum but also in respiratory samples. As a result, it opens up new avenues for monitoring local inflammation within the lungs and assessing systemic inflammation levels throughout the body.