Silica nanoparticles as a carrier in the controlled release of florfenicol

The aim of this study was to use silica nanoparticles as the carrier to load florfenicol in aqueous solution. Florfenicol, which was selected as a model molecule because it is a broad-spectrum antibiotic drug with poor solubility in water, was adsorbed onto silica nanoparticles in aqueous solution through a natural cooling process from 95 °C to room temperature. Tween 80 was added as a stabilizer to limit the growth of drug-loaded particles. The florfenicol-loaded silica particles were characterized by transmission electron microscopy, Zetasizer laser particle size analyser, Fourier transform infrared spectrum, thermal gravimetric analysis and ultraviolet–visible light spectroscopy. The results show that florfenicol was adsorbed onto silica nanoparticles without degradation at a loading of 28.92 wt %; in contrast to the rapid release of pure florfenicol, the drug-loaded silica particles showed a slower release of florfenicol over a longer time.