Uniform mesoporous carbon as a carrier for poorly water soluble drug and its cytotoxicity study.

In this study, uniform mesoporous carbon spheres (UMCS) with 3-D pore system and fibrous ordered mesoporous carbon (FOMC) with 2-dimensional hexagonal mesoporous structure were studied as drug carriers for oral drug delivery system. Lovastatin (LOV), which has low water solubility, was chosen as a model drug. Drug release rate and degree of drug loading of UMCS and FOMC were compared. The effects of different pore channel structures and pore sizes on LOV uptake and release were systematically investigated. Cytotoxicity of UMCS and FOMC on human colon carcinoma (Caco-2) cells were also studied. The results indicate that UMCS has a higher degree of drug loading (up to 36.26% drug weight/total weight) compared with FOMC. The dissolution rate of LOV from UMCS was found to be markedly increased compared with pure crystalline LOV, and the dissolution rate of LOV from FOMC was relatively sustained compared with UMCS, and both UMCS and FOMC exhibited a weak cytotoxicity at tested concentrations (10-800 μg/ml).