An investigation of ibuprofen release from a clinoptilolitic zeolitic tuff modified with cationic surfactant

Abstract

The biopharmaceutical performance of ibuprofen – surfactant modified zeolitic tuff composites prepared in a one-step preparation procedure was evaluated by in vitro drug release experiments. Furthermore, to reveal stability upon desorption, the release of surfactant was also investigated. Results showed that the prolonged ibuprofen release from the tested composites was achieved over a period of 8 h. The analysis of the drug release profiles indicated to a combination of drug diffusion and ion-exchange as predominant release mechanisms. A negligible surfactant desorption demonstrated during release testing alongside with non-toxic nature of these materials may encourages further researches of these functionalized mineral materials as prospective excipients for pharmaceutical application.