Influence of α-Al2O3 morphology and particle size on drug release from ceramic/polymer composites

Abstract

In order to test the influence of ceramic morphology and particle size on the behaviour of the ceramic/polymer/drug composite α-Al ₂ O ₃ /poly(l-lactic acid)/poly(methyl methacrylate)/ibuprofen (α-Al ₂ O ₃ /PLLA/PMMA/IB) containing the antiinflammatory drug ibuprofen, have been studied. We have used α-alumina synthesised by two preparation methods which provide different morphologies and particle sizes. The influence of these parameters on the ibuprofen release process after the immersion of composites in a buffered solution at pH=7.4 at 37 °C was analysed. The results obtained show that drug release is facilitated in the samples which have smaller particle size, with spherical morphology and a homogeneous size distribution of α-alumina.