ISSN print edition: 0366-6352 ISSN electronic edition: 1336-9075 Registr. No.: MK SR 9/7 Published monthly

pH-Sensitive mesoporous bisphosphonate-based TiO₂ nanoparticles utilized for controlled drug delivery of dexamethasone

Marziyeh Motiei Pour, Mohammad Reza Moghbeli, Bagher Larijani, and Hamid Akbari Javar

Smart Polymers and Nanocomposites Research Group, School of Chemical Engineering, Iran University of Science and Technology, Tehran, Iran

E-mail: mr_moghbeli@iust.ac.ir

Received: 15 May 2021  Accepted: 9 September 2021

Abstract:

In this study, pH-sensitive hybrid mesoporous bisphosphonate-based TiO₂ nanoparticles (MBTNPs) were synthesized using cetyltrimethylammonium bromide. For structure and performance comparison purposes, the neat inorganic mesoporous titanium nanoparticles (MTNPs) were also prepared at the similar process conditions. The MTNPs and MBTNPs were used as nanocarriers for dexamethasone (DEX) drug delivery. FE-SEM micrographs showed that the spherical MTNPs and hybrid MBTNPs have diameters in the range of 15–30 nm. The successful incorporation of alendronate sodium trihydrate (AST) into the MBTNPs structure was confirmed by FTIR spectrum, observing a strong band at 1012 cm⁻¹ due to P–O/Ti stretching vibrations. XRD pattern indicated that the introduction of AST causes a decrease in the intensity of the peak of crystalline phase. In addition, both MTNPs and MBTNPs have the only anatase structure with the surface area of 365.2 m²g⁻¹and 520.1 m²g⁻¹, respectively. Furthermore, DEX cumulative release of 78% and 47% was observed for the MBTNPs at the pH value of 5.5 and 7.4 after 96 h, respectively. However, the neat MTNPs with the highest release rate did not have any change with varying the pH. The pH-sensitive behavior of the MBTNPs can be attributed to the presence of AST’s amine groups in the hybrid nanoparticles.

Graphic abstract

Keywords: Bisphosphonate-based TiO2; Drug delivery; Mesoporous; Nanocarriers; pH-Sensitive

Full paper is available at www.springerlink.com.

DOI: 10.1007/s11696-021-01870-x

Chemical Papers 76 (1) 439–451 (2022)