Optimization of the Loading Process of Artemisia absinthium Volatile Oil in a Mesoporous Material as Drug Delivery System

The study aimed to use a mesoporous material as a drug delivery system, loaded in different ways with volatile oil extracted from Artemisia absinthium, to evaluate the most effective loading method. A specific design of the mesoporous material was obtained through template/silica source ratio optimization in the synthesis process. Further bioactive compounds from the volatile oil were loaded in the mesopores. The obtained composite material has the potential to be used as low release drug carrier with anthelmintic activity. FT-IR analysis was used to prove the template removal due to the post-synthesis washing steps and the loading efficiency. The final loaded materials were analyzed qualitatively (percentage from the profile of some identified components, with about 90% recovery) and quantitatively (eucalyptol, linalool, β-myrcene, o-cymene, and α, β thujone). Eight different loading methods were compared in this study, and a high correlation factor (R2>0.73) was obtained through ANOVA statistical data processing related to the 2-5 °C experiment.