Drug-loaded nanofiber membrane was successfully prepared using electrospinning process with helicid as the poorly water-soluble model drug and polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP K30) as the filament-forming matrix.Polarization microscopy (PM) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) were taken to observe the morphology and structure of the nanofibers.Differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) and X-ray diffraction (XRD) were carried out to determine the physical status of the drug in the nanofibers.Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) was conducted to characterize the interaction between the drug and the polymer.Results from the PM and SEM studies showed that the nanofibers had a very well uniform structure with a diameter of 400～600 nm and very smooth fiber surface.DSC and XRD results co-demonstrated that helicid lost its original crystal structure

the needle or long rod shape

but highly distributed in the nanofibers due to the forming of chemical complexes between the PVP K30 and the helecid molecules.FTIR spectra clearly showed that the main interactions between PVP and helicid were hydrogen bonding

which was formed between the carbonyl groups of PVP K30 and the hydroxyl groups of helicid and resulted in the firm existence of drug in the fibers.In vitro wetting and dissolution tests showed that the nanofiber membranes were able to absorb water and dissolve on the water surface in 13.7 s through the “polymer-controlled" mechanism

exhibiting great potential to provide strategies for resolving one of the most difficult problems in pharmaceutics——the dissolution and absorbance of poorly water-soluble drugs

and offer novel approaches for preparing oral fast dissolving drug delivery systems or fast acting dosage forms.