Ordered mesoporous silica modified with lanthanum for ibuprofen loading and release behaviour.

The ordered mesoporous silicas SBA-15 and KIT-6, modified with lanthanum, have been for the first time applied in investigation of ibuprofen adsorption and release. The materials of hexagonal and regular structure were obtained by the hydrothermal method using a triblock copolymer Pluronic P123 as a template. The mesoporous silicas were impregnated with an aqueous solution of lanthanum(III) chloride in the amount necessary to obtain 1, 3 and 5wt.% La loading. The physicochemical properties of the modified silicas were characterised by X-ray diffraction, transmission electron microscopy, UV-Vis spectrophotometry and low-temperature nitrogen sorption. The results showed that lanthanum strongly determined structural as well as textural properties of the silicas. The samples of modified silica were checked for the ability to adsorb and release of ibuprofen. The storage capacity of the modified silicas obtained increased with increasing their average pore diameter and percentage content of lanthanum. The amount of ibuprofen adsorbed onto KIT-6 silica modified with La was higher than that adsorbed onto SBA-15 materials. The high coverage of lanthanum on the surface of KIT-6 and SBA-15 solids was found to increase the amount of ibuprofen and the rate of its release.