Third generation solid dispersions (SDs) of ferulic acid (FA) in composite nanofibers were prepared using electrospinning. The spinning liquids involved co-dissolving solutions of FA, polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP), sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS) and sucralose in 75% ethanol aqueous solutions. FESEM observations showed that the nanofibers were assembled in a homogeneous web structure that had a smooth cross-section and surface with an average diameter of 254 +/- 32 nm. Results from DSC and XRD suggested that FA, SIDS and sucralose were distributed in the PVP fibers in an amorphous manner and this is due to their compatibility resulting through a second-order interactions, as demonstrated by ATR-FTIR spectra. In vitro dissolution and permeation tests showed that the nanofiber-based SDs could release all the contained FA within 1 min and had a 13-fold higher permeation rate across sublingual mucosa compared to crude FA particles. The casting films have the same compositions as the nanofibers and belong to the third generation SDs, they gave the same solubility of FA as the nanofibers, and also exhibited a much faster dissolution rate than pure FA particles. It felt that electrospinning can be taken to prepare new generation SDs with structural characteristics that enhancing absorbance of poorly soluble drugs. (C) 2010 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.