Aloe-emodin-loaded SBA-15 and its in vitro release properties and cytotoxicity to cervical cancer cells

The aloe-emodin anthraquinone is indeed one of the major phytoconstituents of aloe-vera, best recognized because of its marvellous antineoplastic activity. The major hurdle in its direct clinical use, however, is low bioavailability since aloe-emodin is poorly water-soluble. Thus, in this work, aloe-emodin was extracted from leaves of aloe vera and first time loaded into hydrothermally synthesized SBA-15 to improve aloe-emodin bioavailability. The extraction of aloe-emodin was investigated by HPLC. Then aloe-emodin loading and release properties from SBA-15 were investigated using XRD, HRTEM, FTIR and Brunner–Emmett–Teller (BET), respectively. The drug release was investigated using phosphate buffer solution with pH 7.4, which showed that the release rate of a partially water-soluble drug could be controlled efficiently. The loaded SBA-15 aloe-emodin demonstrated significant potential in antineoplastic activity by destroying the nucleus of HeLa cancer cells. Thus, anti-cancer drugs like aloe-emodin can become even more clinically effective when loaded into SBA-15.