Montmorillonite-alginate nanocomposites as a drug delivery system: intercalation and in vitro release of vitamin B1 and vitamin B6.

Sustained intestinal delivery of thiamine hydrochloride (Vitamin B(1); VB(1)) and pyridoxine hydrochloride (Vitamin B(6); VB(6)) seems to be a feasible alternative to existing therapy. The vitamins (VB(1)/VB(6)) intercalated in montmorillonite (MMT) and intercalated VB(1)/VB(6)-MMT hybrid is further used for synthesis of VB(1)/VB(6)-MMT-alginate nanocomposite beads by gelation method and in vitro release in the intestinal environment. The structure and surface morphology of the synthesized VB(1)/VB(6)-MMT hybrid, VB(1)/VB(6)-alginate and VB(1)/VB(6)-MMT-alginate nanocomposite beads were characterized by XRD, FT-IR, TGA and SEM. In vitro release experiments revealed that the VB(1)/VB(6) releases suddenly from VB(1)/VB(6)-MMT hybrid and is pH dependent. The controlled release of VB(1)/VB(6) from VB(1)/VB(6)-MMT-alginate nanocomposite beads was observed to be controlled as compared to their release from VB(1)/VB(6)-MMT hybrid and VB(1)/VB(6)-alginate beads.