Characterization of sodium phenytoin co-gelled with titania for a controlled drug-release system

Sodium phenytoin, C15H11N2NaO2, in several concentrations was co-gelled with titania (TiO2), by a sol–gel process. This technique is a promising method to encapsulate several drugs, in this case, phenytoin is an anticonvulsant used to control epileptic seizures. Samples were prepared by adding different concentrations (X = 50, 100, 200 and 250 mg per 20 g of titania matrix) of sodium phenytoin (Ph) to a solution of titanium n-butoxide. The resulting titania–Ph-X materials were characterized by transmission electron microscopy (TEM), Fourier transformed infrared (FT-IR) spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction (XRD), and Brunauer–Emmet–Teller (BET) surface areas. The porous nanomaterials showed a wide range of particle size, from 10 to 210 nm, with a mean pore diameter of 5 nm. X-ray diffraction showed an amorphous structure of the prepared samples.