Hydrophilic, mesoporous structural ZnO nanospheres for pH-triggered release of drug

Mesoporous ZnO nanospheres with average diameter of similar to 150 nm and good hydrophily were successfully synthesized via decomposition of precursor zinc hydroxide carbonate hydrate (ZHCH) by thermal treatment with solvent diethylene glycol (DEG) in the presence of polyvinyl pyrrolidone (PIT). The results reveal that the ZHCH precursor decomposed into small ZnO nanocrystals (similar to 20 nm) after being thermal treatment, and these small ZnO nanocrystals self-assembled to spherical mesoporous ZnO aggregates. The obtained ZnO nano spheres exhibited a large specific surface area (43.4 m(2)/g), uniform pore size (6.2 nm) and good dispersibility in water. Doxorubicin hydrochloride (DOX) was selected as a model drug to evaluate its release behavior from the mesoporous ZnO nanocarrier. The in vitro drug release experimental results demonstrate that the mesoporous ZnO nanospheres exhibit a pH-triggered release for DOX.