Direct encapsulation of water-soluble drug into silica microcapsules for sustained release applications

Direct encapsulation of water-soluble drug into silica microcapsules was facilely achieved by a sol–gel process of tetraethoxysilane (TEOS) in W/O emulsion with hydrochloric acid (HCl) aqueous solution containing Tween 80 and drug as well as cyclohexane solution containing Span 80. Two water-soluble drugs of gentamicin sulphate (GS) and salbutamol sulphate (SS) were chosen as model drugs. The characterization of drug encapsulated silica microcapsules by scanning electronic microscopy (SEM), FTIR, thermogravimetry (TG) and N2 adsorption–desorption analyses indicated that drug was successfully entrapped into silica microcapsules. The as-prepared silica microcapsules were uniform spherical particles with hollow structure, good dispersion and a size of 5–10 μm, and had a specific surface area of about 306 m2/g. UV–vis and thermogravimetry (TG) analyses were performed to determine the amount of drug encapsulated in the microcapsules. The BJH pore size distribution (PSD) of silica microcapsules before and after removing drug was examined. In vitro release behavior of drug in simulated body fluid (SBF) revealed that such system exhibited excellent sustained release properties.