Montmorillonite Intercalated Norfloxacin and Tobramycin for New Drug-Delivery Systems

The urgent need of safe, therapeutically and patient-compliant drug delivery systems (DDSs) continuously stimulates researchers to explore novel tools and strategies to monitor the loading and release of drugs. In this context, this study demonstrates that montmorillonite clay (MMT) is an appropriate material for changing the release behavior of Tobramycin and Norfloxacin drugs into medium. The DDSs were prepared by the intercalation of Tobramycin or Norfloxacin between MMT layers. The MMT-drug systems were analyzed using X-ray diffraction (XRD) analysis, scanning electron microscope (SEM), and Fourier transforms infrared (FT-IR). After insertion of the drugs between the layers of MMT, the periodicity in c-axis changed because of the formation of layered hybrid structures. The release of drugs was investigated using UV-spectrophotometer. The release rates are found to be dependent on pH of the medium. Moreover, we found that the percentage of release increases as the pH increases, however the release rate is low. These findings would be beneficial for controlled release of drugs for prolonged time in the future.