Aerosol-assisted synthesis of magnetic mesoporous silica spheres for drug targeting

Spherical silica-based mesoporous materials encapsulating magnetic nanoparticles have been synthesized following an aerosol-assisted route. The influence of nonionic surfactant P123 concentration in the structural and textural parameters has been investigated. Moreover, the effect of adding different amounts of magnetic nanoparticles to the precursor solution has been studied attending to structural, textural, and magnetic properties. The ability of these materials to achieve stability in aqueous solution at physiological pH, and their potential to be magnetically guided, have been evaluated. The microspheres adsorption and release performance have been tested by using ibuprofen as a model drug.