Modification of mesoporous silica nanoparticles for ibuprofen loading and release in drug delivery

Abstract

Mesoporous silica nanoparticles (MSN) were synthesized by conventional method and microwave heating as drug delivery platform for the adsorption and release of ibuprofen, an anti-inflammatory drug. MSN was modified by 3- aminopropyltriethoxysilane (APTES) and aluminum (Al) metal. Modification with APTES was conducted via co-condensation (MSN-APTco) and post-grafting method (MSN-APTpost) of MSN. The percentages of adsorption of ibuprofen were 100%, 71% and 78%, while the releases were 50%, 100% and 38% for MSN, MSN-APTco and MSN-APTpost, respectively, which resulted from the difference in the surface functional group. 1%, 5% and 10% of aluminum (Al) were loaded onto MSN via the impregnation method. The adsorptions of ibuprofen were 35%, 58% and 79%, while the releases were 100%, 86% and 89% for 1%, 5% and 10% Al loaded MSN, respectively. The increase in Bronsted acidity upon loading of Al up to 10% strongly bound the drug, which caused the highest adsorption but the slowest release of ibuprofen. MSN was also synthesized with microwave power of 100W (MSNMW100), 300W (MSN-MW300) and 450W (MSN-MW450). MSN-MW450 exhibited the highest ibuprofen adsorption (100%), followed by MSN-MW300 (75%) and MSNMW100 (58%), while the percentages of release were 65%, 81% and 95%, respectively, depicting longer channel of MSN demonstrated higher adsorptivity toward ibuprofen, while simultaneously delayed the release process. From all the studies, the vital factors for ibuprofen delivery were found to be the surface functional group, acidity and also the mesoporous channel length. With these factors, MSN can be designed to fulfill the desired drug delivery system. In conclusion, MSN can be tailored to have suitable features for slow drug release which provide constant release over a defined period to avoid repetitive administration. In parallel, MSN also could be employed as a fast drug release system that provides initial burst of drug release to achieve rapid and maximum relief.