Poorly water-soluble drugs represent a challenge for the pharmaceutical industry because it is necessary to find properly tuned and efficient systems for their release. In this framework, organic-inorganic hybrid systems could represent a promising strategy. A largely diffused inorganic host is hydroxyapatite (HAP, Ca10(PO4)6(OH)2), which is easily synthesized with different external forms and can adsorb different kinds of molecules, thereby allowing rapid drug release. Hybrid nanocomposites of HAP nanorods, obtained through hydrothermal synthesis, were prepared with two model pharmaceutical molecules characterized by low and pH-dependent solubility: meloxicam, a non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug, and bumetanide, a diuretic drug. Both hybrids were physically and chemically characterized through the combined use of X-ray powder diffraction, scanning electron microscopy with energy-dispersive spectroscopy, differential scanning calorimetry, and infrared spectroscopy measurements. Then, their dissolution profiles and hydrophilicity (contact angles) in different media as well as their solubility were determined and compared to the pure drugs. This hybrid system seems particularly suitable as a drug carrier for bumetanide, as it shows higher drug loading and good dissolution profiles, while is less suitable for meloxicam, an acid molecule.
Keywords: bumetanide; drug delivery; hydroxyapatite; in vitro dissolution studies; inorganic–organic hybrids; meloxicam; solubility.