Development of pH-responsive polymer-grafted mesoporous silica

Abstract

The drug delivery material was developed from mesoporous silica grafted with pH-responsive poly (acrylic acid) (PAA). The mesoporous silica was prepared from rice husk ash via the surfactant assisted sol-gel method, obtaining the 2D hexagonal porous structure. PAA was grafted on mesoporous silica surface by UV-induced graft polymerization. The irradiation time and monomer concentration on the graft polymerization were investigated and the results revealed that increasing the irradiation time as well as the monomer concentration enhanced the grafting percentage due to an increase in the extent of polymerization. Finally, the loading and releasing behaviors of Indigocarmine as drug model from the PAA-grafted mesoporous silica studied at various pHs. The PAA-grafted mesoporous silica showed slower drug releasing as increasing the grafting amount.