Synthesis of mesoporous MCM-۴۱ silica nanoparticles and surfacemodified by chitosan functionalized with folic acid for targeted drug deliveryand controlled release

So far, various materials have been used for the design of drug delivery systems. Amongthese materials, meso-porous silica nanoparticles have attracted many attentions due to theirspecial characteristics such as high surface area, uniform pore size, large pore volume, and mostimportantly the selective functionalization of their internal and/or external surfaces.In this project, the meso-porous MCM-۴۱ silica nanoparticles have been made usingconventional sol-gel method. At the next step, the anti-cancer drug (Capecitabine) molecules areloaded in the pores of nanoparticles that are immersed in the drug’s solution. After that, thechitosan with folic acid was used as the ligand-targeted agents and also as a coating on the drugcarrier nanoparticles. Finally, the drug release from nanoparticles are examined in PBSenvironment (at ۳۷oC , pH = ۷. ۴).In order to determine the absorption and the release of the drug, the UV-Vi method has beenused. The morphology and surface properties of MCM-۴۱ nanoparticles have been studied usingthe SEM and BET techniques. The FTIR spectroscopy has been used to study the folic acid’sbinding to chitosan, and the TGA analysis is also used to determine the amount of coveredpolymer on the nanoparticles.The comparison between the obtained release charts indicates the controllability of the drugrelease from the modified nanoparticles. Overall, in this thesis we modified the nano-carriers inboth aspects of controllable release and being as targeted agents. These aspects not only improvethe performance of drug’s molecules, but also reduce the harmful side effects of these drugs.This procedure could be very useful, especially for those drug molecules which require organicsolvents with potential side effects, e.g. in chemotherapy for cancer treatment.

کلیدواژه ها:

Drug delivery systems ، Mesoporous silica nanoparticles ، MCM-۴۱ ، Surfacemodification ، Capecitabine ، Controlled release