Chitosan modified mesoporous silica nanoparticles as a versatile drug carrier with pH dependent properties

Mesoporous silica nanoparticles (MSN) offer so many advantages as drug carrier, including large surface area, controllable pore size and morphology, and ease surface modification. Chitosan modified MSN has been synthesized to obtain drug carrier with pH dependent properties. Chitosan itself has been used in many studies as drug carrier due to its biocompatibility. In the present study, we combined MSN and chitosan in order to take advantage the high surface area and pore volume of MSN, and also the specific characteristics of chitosan at different pH values. The modification enables optimization of drug release at a low pH. The chitosan attachment on the surface of MSN was characterized by using FTIR. The release study of chitosan modified MSN at a variety of pH showed that the modification creates a controlled release profile of drug molecule (curcumin). At a high pH value, the accumulation release was low compared to that at a low level of pH. The release profile of chitosan-modified MSN at different concentrations of chitosan was also studied. The chitosan-MSN showed a controlled release profile