Development and Characterization of Montmorillonite‐Based Hybrid Materials for pH‐Responsive Drug Delivery

Abstract

This study reports the development of montmorillonite (MMT)‐based hybrid systems for pH‐responsive drug delivery. During fabrication, MMT is first modified with dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO) and methanol (MeOH), with the generated hybrid materials being designated as MMTDMSO and MMTMeOH, respectively. The hybrid materials are then intercalated with DOX for drug delivery purposes. Results of XRD and DSC reveal that DOX is successfully intercalated into the MMT interlayers. In vitrodrug release studies of the DOX‐loaded hybrid materials are investigated at pH 4.5 and 7.4 at 37 °C. The cytotoxicity of the materials is studied in vitro by using human breast cancer cells (MCF‐7) as a model. Results suggest that our hybrid materials are carriers enabling effective, sustained and controlled drug release.

Roles and Mechanisms of Astragaloside IV in Combating Neuronal Aging

“…The safety, bioavailability and target specificity are some of the factors to be considered when astragaloside IV-based regimens are adopted to tackle neuronal aging. Nevertheless, with the advances in nanotechnologies [ 167 , 168 , 183 ], some of the problems (including the low bioavailability and lack of target specificity) associated with the therapeutic use of astragaloside IV should be able to be addressed. Last but not least, till now most of the studies on the biological activity of astragaloside IV are performed in vitro or in vivo , studies examining the therapeutic effect of the agent in the clinical context is lacking.…”

Development and Characterization of Ph-Responsive Polymeric Microbeads Intercalated With Montmorillonite for Controlled Release of Doxorubicin

“…Due to the strong interaction between clay minerals and drug molecules, which results in high adsorption rates and a slow drug release rate, clay minerals are considered a possible choice for controlled drug release. So, clay minerals are becoming more and more useful in biomedical fields like drug delivery and regenerative medicine [11].…”