Optimization of the Production Process and Product Quality of Titanate Nanotube-Drug Composites.

Recently, there has been an increasing interest in the application of nanotubular structures for drug delivery. There are several promising results with carbon nanotubes; however, in light of some toxicity issues, the search for alternative materials has come into focus. The objective of the present study was to investigate the influence of the applied solvent on the composite formation of titanate nanotubes (TNTs) with various drugs in order to improve their pharmacokinetics, such as solubility, stability, and bioavailability. Composites were formed by the dissolution of atenolol (ATN) and hydrochlorothiazide (HCT) in ethanol, methanol, 0.01 M hydrochloric acid or in ethanol, 1M sodium hydroxide, dimethylformamide (DMF), dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO), respectively, and then they were mixed with a suspension of TNTs under sonication for 30 min and vacuum-dried for 24 h. The structural properties of composites were characterized by SEM, TEM, FT-IR, differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), thermogravimetric (TG) analysis, and optical contact angle (OCA) measurements. Drug release was determined from the fast disintegrating tablets using a dissolution tester coupled with a UV-Vis spectrometer. The results revealed that not only the good solubility of the drug in the applied solvent, but also the high volatility of the solvent, is necessary for an optimal composite-formation process.

Standpoint on the priority of TNTs and CNTs as targeted drug delivery systems.

Conventional drug delivery systems have limitations according to their toxicity and poor solubility, bioavailability, stability, and pharmacokinetics (PK). Here, we highlight the importance of functionalized titanate nanotubes (TNTs) as targeted drug delivery systems. We discuss the differences in the physicochemical properties of TNTs and carbon nanotubes (CNTs) and focus on the use of functionalization to improve their characteristics. TNTs are promising materials for drug delivery systems because of their superb properties compared with CNTs, such as their processability, wettability, and biocompatibility. Functionalization improves nanoparticles (NPs) via their surface modification and enables them to achieve the targeted therapy.