Abstract
MCM-41 is one of the most studied mesoporous ceramics for drug delivery systems. Its high specific surface area and mesoporosity allow high adsorption capacity. Even though there are many studies published in the biomedical field, there are no reports of commercial applications of MCM-41 so far. One of the possible justifications is the lack of morphological control during conventional synthesis. Therefore, modifications in the reaction parameters of the MCM-41 conventional synthesis were tested in this paper, aiming to obtain particles with reduced diameter and agglomeration. It was observed that both the increase in the water molar proportion and the decrease in the stirring time resulted in particles with reduced size. Furthermore, the control of the tetraethyl orthosilicate (TEOS) dropping rate and the addition of triethylamine (TEA) improved the dispersion of the system, but they also decreased the particle size, and therefore van der Waals interactions promoted re-agglomeration.
Keywords:
MCM-41; controlled drug release; reduction of particle size; increase in dispersion
