Ibuprofen loaded porous calcium phosphate nanospheres for skeletal drug delivery system

Porous calcium phosphate nanospheres were successfully fabricated by a simple sonochemical method, and used as a drug carrier of ibuprofen. Morphology, structure, ibuprofen storage capacity, and release rate of the calcium phosphate nanospheres were characterized using FE-SEM, TEM, Nitrogen adsorption, XRD, FTIR, and UV–vis adsorption spectroscopies. Results showed the obtained calcium phosphate nanospheres held a porous structure with an average diameter of 48.9 ± 17.42 nm. Moreover, the porous nanospheres possessed an adjustable load amount and release rate for ibuprofen by changing drug concentrations during the drug loading process. In addition, the effects of size and dispersancy of porous spheres on drug release rate were discussed, which was found that larger or agglomerate porous spheres could delay drug release process. This study indicated that porous calcium phosphate nanospheres were a perfect drug carrier for ibuprofen, which has potential application for the therapy of skeletal disease.