pH-Controllable drug release using hydrogel encapsulated mesoporous silica.

Amine-functionalized mesoporous SBA-15 silica loaded with bovine serum albumin (BSA) has been successfully encapsulated with a thin layer coating of poly(acrylic acid) PAA, with the entrapped BSA being released from the PAA-encapsulated SBA-15 at the higher pH value of 7.4 rather than at the lower pH value of 1.2. This novel drug delivery system has a potential application in the release of protein drug to the site of higher pH value, such as small intestine or colon.