A shelf-life study of silica- and carbon-based mesoporous materials

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jiec.2021.06.011Get rights and content
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Highlights

  • The shelf-life of mesoporous materials in various atmospheres was investigated.

  • Mesoporous silica is more stable in humid conditions compared to bioactive glasses.

  • Mesoporous carbons are stable in both dry and humid conditions.

  • Sol-gel synthesized bioactive glasses are more stable compared to spray-dried ones.

  • Bioactive glasses retain their cytocompatibility when stored in glass vials.

Abstract

Mesoporous silica- and carbon-based materials, including bioactive glasses, have proven potential as components of medical devices and as drug carriers. From an application perspective, knowledge about the shelf-life stability of these materials under various conditions is vital. Here, mesoporous bioactive glasses (MBGs) synthesized by aerosol-assisted spray-drying and by a batch sol–gel method, mesoporous silicas of SBA-15 type, and mesoporous carbons CMK-1 and CMK-3 have been stored under varying conditions, e.g. at different temperature and relative humidity (RH), and in different storage vessels. The results show that the silica-based materials stored in Eppendorfs are sensitive to humidity. Spray dried MBGs decompose within 1 month at a RH >5%, whilst sol–gel MBGs are more stable up to a RH >60%. Changing the storage vessel to sealed glass flasks increases the MBGs lifetime significantly, with no degradation during 2 months of storage at a RH = 75%. SBA-15 stored in Eppendorfs are more stable compared to MBGs, and addition of F- ions added during the synthesis affects the material degradation rate. Mesoporous carbons are stable under all conditions for all time points. This systematic study clearly demonstrates the importance of storage conditions for mesoporous materials which is crucial knowledge for commercialization of these materials.

Keywords

Mesoporous bioactive glass
Mesoporous silica
Mesoporous carbon
Materials stability
Shelf-life

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