Mesoporous titanium zirconium oxide nanospheres with potential for drug delivery applications

Mesoporous titanium zirconium (TiZr) oxide nanospheres with variable Ti to Zr ratios were synthesized using sol-gel chemistry followed by solvothermal treatment. These oxide nanospheres exhibited similar diameters (~360 nm), high surface areas (from 237 ± 2 to 419 ± 4 m(2) g(-1)), and uniform pore diameters (~3.7 nm). Three drugs, ibuprofen, dexamethasone, and erythromycin, were loaded into the TiZr oxide nanospheres. The TiZr oxide nanospheres exhibited a high loading capacity, up to 719 mg g(-1), and sustained release profiles in phosphate buffered saline (PBS) at pH 7.4. The mesoporous TiZr oxide nanospheres also exhibited hydrolytic stability, as evidenced by the retention of the integrity of the mesostructures after drug release in PBS for 21 days.