Montmorillonite-Alginate Nanocomposites as a Drug Delivery System: Intercalation and In Vitro Release of Vitamin B1 and Vitamin B6

Sustained intestinal delivery of thiamine hydrochloride (Vitamin B-1; VB1) and pyridoxine hydrochloride (Vitamin B-6; VB6) seems to be a feasible alternative to existing therapy. The vitamins (VB1/VB6) intercalated in montmorillonite (MMT) and intercalated VB1/VB6-MMT hybrid is further used for synthesis of VB1/VB6-MMT-alginate nanocomposite beads by gelation method and in vitro release in the intestinal environment. The structure and surface morphology of the synthesized VB1/VB6-MMT hybrid, VB1/VB6-alginate and VB1/VB6-MMT-alginate nanocomposite beads were characterized by XRD, FT-IR, TGA and SEM. In vitro release experiments revealed that the VB1/VB6 releases suddenly from VB1/VB6-MMT hybrid and is pH dependent. The controlled release of VB1/VB6 from VB1/VB6-MMT-alginate nanocomposite beads was observed to be controlled as compared to their release from VB1/VB6-MMT hybrid and VB1/VB6-alginate beads.