Influence of Bimodal Mesopores Large Pore Structure on Ibuprofen Loading and Delivery Property

Three kinds of bimodal mesopores silica―based nanomaterials (BMMs) with different accumulated pores structure were synthesized by tuning the stirring rate in the preparation process and then functionalized with silane coupling agent 3―(2―aminoethylamino) propyltrimethoxysilane (NN―TES). The modified BMMs were used as ibuprofen carriers and their delivery property were studied with Korsmeyer―Peppas model. With the help of XRD, TEM, N2 adsorption and desorption isotherms and elemental analysis, it indicated that the hydrolysis and condensation polymerization rate of TEOS would be influenced by changing the stirring rate, which resulted in the formation of three kinds of BMMs with different small pores order and large accumulated pores structure. When applying NN―TES modified BMMs as ibuprofen carriers, the ibuprofen loading amount in three different kinds of BMMs were almost the same, while the release rate had great difference from each other. These results demonstrate that the drug loading capacity was affected by the small pores of BMMs, while the large pores of BMMs would influence the drug diffusion behaviors in the mesoporous channels, leading to the increase of release rate with the increment of the large pore size.