Preparation and characterization of melt spun polypropylene / montmorillonite nanocomposite fibre for ibuprofen drug delivery application

Abstract

POLYPROPYLENE of Montmorillonite/Montmorillonite (MMT) clay using clay Dimethyl nanocomposite di (hydrogenated was prepared tallow) after modification ammonium chloride modifier. The prepared nanocomposite was characterized using scanning electron microscope (SEM), Fourier-transform infrared (FTIR) and thermal gravimetric analysis (TGA). Fibers of pure polypropylene (PP) and polypropylene/montmorillonite clay nanocomposite (PP/MMT) were produced using melt spinning technique and the prepared fibers were characterized using mechanical properties, water absorption in addition to SEM analysis. The results show that the nanocomposite fibers have higher thermal stability, higher mechanical properties, and lower water absorption than pure polypropylene fibers in addition to high degree in homogeneity between polypropylene and MMT clay in polypropylene/montmorillonite nanocomposite. Ibuprofen drug (IBU) was successfully loaded into polypropylene and polypropylene/montmorillonite clay nanocomposite fiber via solvent immersion method with different drug fiber ratio in presence of glyoxal cross linker. Drug release profile was studied for 120 min and the results showed that about 33% from the initial loaded drug was released from the fiber after one hour of release starting time.