Twisted-chiral mesoporous silica from coconut husk waste designed for high-performance drug uptake and sustained release

• Published in: Microporous and mesoporous materials 2024-03, Vol.367, p.112973, Article 112973
• Main Authors: Susanto, Jeane Angelica Yulianadi, Widagdo, Antonius Jimmy, Wijanarko, Marvel Guntur, Yuliana, Maria, Hartono, Sandy Budi, Santoso, Shella Permatasari, Kadja, Grandprix Thomryes Marth, Wijaya, Christian Julius, Ayucitra, Aning, Retnoningtyas, Ery Susiany, Hidayat, Ismadji, Suryadi
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Biomass-based silica; Drug uptake/release; Mesoporous material; Sustainable material; Tetracycline; Twisted-chiral structure
• ISSN: 1387-1811
• DOI: 10.1016/j.micromeso.2023.112973

With an annual production of 2.81 million tons, the coconut husk is an essential source of silica. Various advantages of silica as a drug carrier make it one of the most developed materials in drug delivery applications. To improve the drug delivery performance of a material, twisted chirality is also classified as a critical factor because the pharmacological activity depends on the interaction of the drug with the drug carrier material in the target area. In this study, the coconut husk-based mesoporous silica (MS) can be synthesized through a calcination and sol-gel method. With the help of anionic surfactant, MS is successfully modified to have a twisted-chiral structure (CMS). CMS is characterized by twisted rod-like morphology at a size of 1–2 μm, with a helical arrangement (mixed with the beta-sheet and random coil conformations). CMS's surface area and pore volume are obtained at 288.3 m2/g and 0.614 cm3/g, with an average pore size of 7.63 nm. The maximum adsorption of tetracycline (506.5 mg/g) is reached at pH = 4, with the initial concentration of tetracycline at 400 mg/g, temperature of 323 K, and adsorption time of 600 min. The loading of tetracycline follows the pseudo-first-order model with a monolayer mechanism. The bulk migration of tetracycline from the solution into the surface of CMS is deemed the primary adsorption mechanism. The in-vitro release study of tetracycline at pH = 7.4 follows the slow-sustained release model with the cumulative release at 72.3 %, showing better release performance compared with the common MS. [Display omitted] •Sustainable twisted-chiral mesoporous silica, CMS, is fabricated from coconut husk.•CMS has been successfully employed as a carrier for tetracycline uptake/release.•The uptake capacity of tetracycline by CMS at equilibrium reaches 506.5 mg/g.•The release of tetracycline follows first-order model with a slow-sustained profile.