LAUSR

This research was to investigate and characterize different types of zeolites, i.e., Y and ZSM-5 as well as their corresponding nanocomposite of PEG (PEG/Y and PEG/ZSM-5), as carrier for loading and release of curcumin. Zeolites and PEG/zeolite nanocomposites were characterized by XRD, SEM and FT-IR techniques. Curcumin encapsulation efficiency of zeolite Y, ZSM-5, PEG/Y and PEG/ZSM-5 was determined to be 61.06, 40.45, 45.59 and 37.76%, respectively. Nitrogen adsorption–desorption measurement was used to measure the surface area and the pore volume of the hosts before and after curcumin loading. The decrease in surface areas and pore volumes after drug loading was attributed to the inclusion of curcumin in the zeolites pores. In vitro drug release of curcumin was studied in buffer solution (pH = 5.4 and 7.4) at 37 °C. The results showed higher levels of curcumin release from zeolite Y compared to ZSM-5. The zeolite nanocomposites also revealed the higher level of released curcumin in comparison with the corresponding zeolites. The amount of curcumin released at pH = 5.4 was higher than at pH = 7.4, which can be used as evidence to demonstrate the pH sensitivity of the zeolite as drug carrier. From the results, it can be concluded that zeolite-based drug delivery systems can be considered as promising candidate for delivery of hydrophobic drugs such as curcumin.