Synthesis and Characterization of Hybrid Mesoporous Silica Based Nanocarriers for Anti-Inflammatory Agents

Abstract

Mesoporous silica MCM-41 was synthesized using sol-gel method and functionalized with 3-aminopropyltriexthoxysilane and -N-(2-Aminoethyl)-3- aminopropyltrimethoxysilane to obtain surface functionalized materials MCM-A! and MCM-A2 respectively. The Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy, NMR spectroscopy, XRD, nitrogen adsorption and desorption analysis and scanning electron microscopy were done for characterization of materials. The prepared materials were loaded with the anti-inflammatory drug Diclofenac (water soluble). The drug loading capacity of MCM-A1 and MCM-A2 were found as 21.6% and 26% respectively. The drug release profiles were constructed up to 75 hours. The results indicated that drug loaded materials showed distinct profiles and slow and controlled drug release was observed from these materials. The MCM-A1 showed a faster rate of drug release compared to MCM-A2, which is attributed to N-(2- Aminoethyl)-3-aminopropyltrimethoxysilane moieties attached to MCM-A2 surface resulting strong bonding interactions between the amine groups and drug molecules. By incorporating organic groups onto silica, the drug release rates could be tailored by varying the content of functional groups. The obtained results suggest that such extended drug delivery system may be used as controlled release cargos for water soluble anti-inflammatory drugs such as diclofenac sodium to enhance the drug safety and efficacy.