Core-shell nanofibers were designed via electrospinning using inclusion complex (IC) of model hydrophobic drug (curcumin, CUR) with cyclodextrin (CD) in the core and polymer (polylactic acid, PLA) in the shell (cCUR/HP beta CD-IC-sPLA-NF). CD-IC of CUR and HP beta CD was formed at 1:2 molar ratio. The successful formation of core-shell nanofibers was revealed by TEM and CLSM images. cCUR/HP beta CD-ICsPLA-NF released CUR slowly but much more in total than PLA-CUR-NF at pH 1 and pH 7.4 due to the restriction of CUR in the core of nanofibers and solubility improvement shown in phase solubility diagram, respectively. Improved antioxidant activity of cCUR/HP beta CD-IC-sPLA-NF in methanol:water (1:1) is related with the solubility enhancement achieved in water based system. The slow reaction of cCUR/HP beta CD-IC-sPLA-NF in methanol is associated with the shell inhibiting the quick release of CUR. On the other hand, cCUR/HP beta CD-IC-sPLA-NF exhibited slightly higher rate of antioxidant activity than PLACUR-NF in methanol:water (1:1) owing to the enhanced solubility. To conclude, slow release of CUR was achieved by core-shell nanofiber structure and inclusion complexation of CUR with HP beta CD provides high solubility. Briefly, electrospinning of core-shell nanofibers with CD-IC core could offer slow release of drugs as well as solubility enhancement for hydrophobic drugs. (C) 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.