Mesoporous silica particles based on complex micelles of poorly water-soluble compounds. One simple step to multidrug carriers

Curcumin, a natural water-insoluble compound of high biological activity, has been solubilized in the micelles of an antiseptic miramistin. As a result, curcumin water solubility increased up to 80 times. Miramistin micelles with the solubilized curcumin have been used as a hybrid template for the one-pot synthesis of mesoporous silica nanocontainers (MSNs) from tetraethoxysilane (TEOS) and their loading with these two drugs. The obtained MSNs are of a prolonged shape and ordered porous structure with a high amount of encapsulated drugs. It is found that the drug content in MSNs depends on the miramistin-to-TEOS ratio as well as the temperatures of both the solubilization of curcumin and the synthesis of MSNs. Kinetics of miramistin and curcumin release from the MSNs into the aqueous media with different pH values has been studied. Drugs release rate increases in acidic medium (pH 4.9) in comparison to neutral medium. We believe that the obtained MSNs loaded with two bioactive compounds may provide enhanced bioavailability of curcumin and, therefore, turn to be promising to combat drug-resistant bacteria. [Display omitted] •Hybrid template is produced via curcumin solubilization in antiseptic micelles.•One-pot synthesis of mesoporous SiO2-containers using hybrid template is demonstrated.•Silica containers encapsulate high amount of two drugs: miramistin and curcumin.•Release of two encapsulated drugs can be controlled by the medium pH.•Relation of miramistin and curcumin release rates is demonstrated.