Quercetin Adsorption on Amorphous Silica Surfaces in Hybrid Organic–Inorganic Biomaterials as Drug Delivery Systems

Controlled drug delivery systems are drawing increasing attention thanks to their possible pharmaceutical and biomedical applications [1]. In this work a theoretical study based on Molecular Mechanic (MM) and Molecular Dynamic (MD) methods is performed to investigate possible surface interactions between the amorphous SiO2 surface and the ketoprofen molecules (an anti-inflammatory drug), considering the role of drug concentration. The hybrid materials were synthesized by Sol-Gel route [2] and the MM and MD results were compared to those obtained by Fourier-Transform infrared spectroscopy. The results revealed that the loaded drug in these amorphous bioactive material forms hydrogen bonds with the silica surface (see Figure 1). The surface interactions are essential to have a new generation of biomaterials not only important for biocompatibility [3], with specific structural and functional properties, but also able to incorporate anti-inflammatory agents for efficient release into the human body [1].