Synthesis and drug delivery property of silica nanotubes prepared using gelatin nanofibers as novel sacrificed template

Silica nanotubes were prepared using the gelatin nanofibers as novel sacrificed template via a sol-gel route with a subsequent calcination process. FT-IR spectrum showed that the siloxane bonds (Si-O-Si) were involved in the silica nanotubes. SEM observations showed that the silica nanotubes had an average diameter of 742 ± 82 nm with a hollow cavity of 513 ± 68 nm. The formation of the tubular hollow structure was attributed to the removal of gelatin template. After soaked in the solution of tetracycline hydrochloride (TH, one of the representative antibiotics) as model drug, the silica nanotubes favored the adsorption of TH with the loading efficiency of 38%. A sustained release behavior of TH was observed as the TH-loaded silica nanotubes were soaked in the phosphate buffer saline. The released TH was biologically active to strongly inhibit the growth of bacterial E. coli.