Mesoporous SBA-15 molecular sieve as a carrier for controlled release of nimodipine

In this study, mesoporous SBA-15 molecular sieve was prepared to evaluate its application as nimodipine drug delivery system. The nimodipine was doped inside the pores of the SBA-15 by contacting a solution of the nimodipine 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. The results showed that the release effect of nimodipine in the prepared samples was 50% in 12–13 h, 100% in 24–25 h. The process was made in a very slow release pattern. The outside surface of the SBA-15 was modified with phenyl-trimethoxysilane or trimethylchlorosilane before calcination. Chemical analysis, powder X-ray diffraction (XRD), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR), nitrogen adsorption–desorption technique, transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) were used to characterize the corresponding materials. The approaches described in this paper provide the methods for carrying nimodipine and improving the medical effect of nimodipine.