Starch-g-lactic acid/montmorillonite nanocomposite: Synthesis, characterization and controlled drug release study

In this paper, a new starch-g-lactic acid/montmorillonite nanocomposite was developed for controlled and sustained drug release. First, starch-g-lactic acid was synthesized by reaction between starch and lactic acid with azeotropic distillation. In order to achieve a high degree of grafting starch, effects of the reaction time and the monomer concentration were evaluated. Bio-based nanocomposites were prepared through solution intercalation technique of starch-g-lactic acid with Closite Na+. The morphology of the samples was evaluated using a scanning electron microscope (SEM) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). The nanoparticles were spherical with a mean size of around 355 +/- 5 nm. The thermal properties of the nanocomposites were investigated by thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) and differential scanning calorimetry (DSC). Acetylated starch and its nanoparticle were used to study the overall effect of sustained release of the fluoxetine. The nanocomposite showed good drug encapsulation efficiency and a sustained drug release pattern.