Stability of different mesoporous silica particles during an in vitro digestion

Abstract

Mesoporous silica materials have the ability to entrap drugs, nutrients and functional biomolecules and can be able to act as smart delivery systems capable to control and target the release of their cargo in a particular part of the gastrointestinal tract when administrated orally. However, the aptness of these encapsulation supports in in vivo oral controlled release relies on their chemical stability through the digestive tube. In this context, we have evaluated the stability of four different mesoporous silica particles, frequently used as encapsulating supports, during an in vitro digestion process comprising buccal, stomach and intestinal phases. Results showed that after 4 h of digestion, the textural properties of silica supports in the form of nanoparticles (MCM-41 and UVM-7 nanoparticles) were lost in varying degrees, whereas silica microparticles supports (MCM-41 and SBA-15 microparticles) endures better the digestion process. Moreover, the functionalization of the surface with N-1-(3-trimethoxysilylpropyl)diethylenetriamine, an organic moiety commonly used in the preparation of pH-responsive mesoporous silica particles, resulted in an improvement of the stability of the supports. (C) 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.