Synthesis of sol-gel mesoporous silica materials providing a slow release of doxorubicin

Abstract

Samples of mesoporous base-catalysed silica xerogel materials made by the sol-gel process were impregnated with an anticancer drug—doxorubicin, followed by different times of ageing at room temperature. The effect of ageing time on the physical and structural properties as well as sorption–desorption of the drug was investigated. The obtained results suggest an inverse relationship with a solid density and surface area increasing as the pore size and volume decrease during ageing time. These results also revealed the effect of ageing time on the efficiency of sorption–desorption of the drug. An increase in ageing time results in an increase of the efficiency of drug sorption and a decrease in the rate of drug release.

Key Words: :

• Porous silica polymers
• sol-gel methods
• sorption–desorption process
• doxorubicin
• controlled release