Silica-Enoxil nanobiocomposites with 13 %w of Enoxil were prepared either by mechanical mixing of corresponding powders or by sorptive modification of fumed silica powder with aqueous Enoxil solution under fluidized bed conditions. The interaction of fumed silica with Enoxil and the properties of silica-Enoxil composites have been investigated using IR spectroscopy, thermogravimetric analysis, and quantum chemistry methods, as well as by means of water absorption, Enoxil desorption, and 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) test. It has been shown that the main biomolecules of Enoxil composition interact with silica involving their hydroxyl groups and surface silanol groups. The water absorption of silica-Enoxil nanocomposites was found to be less than that for the individual components. The Enoxil biomolecules are readily and completely desorbed from silica surface into water, and the antioxidant activity of desorbed Enoxil is practically the same as that for the just dissolved one.
Keywords: Adsorption; Antioxidant; Biomolecules; Composite; Desorption; Enoxil; Fumed silica.