Hexagonal ordered mesoporous material as a matrix for the controlled release of amoxicillin

The large-pore ordered mesoporous material SBA-15 has been synthesized from a self-assembly process by using the tri-block copolymer Pluronic P123 as templating agent. The antibiotic amoxicillin has been incorporated into the porous calcined material by contacting a solution of the drug in an appropriate solvent with the porous solid, and the drug release process from the matrix into a simulated body fluid (SBF) solution has been studied. It has been found that the amount of drug incorporated into the porous matrix is strongly dependent upon the solvent, pH and amoxicillin concentration, and reaches a value of 24 wt.% under optimum conditions. The amoxicillin is released into the solution at a rate which is dependent upon physical state of the material, either powder or disk. Release from powder is faster than disk.