ORGANIC-INORGANIC HYBRID COMPOSITES
M. OLARU, T. BURUIANA, R. CRISTESCU, I. MIHAIL

Abstract. The aim of this study was to synthesize and characterize new poly(ethylene glycol)s (PEGs) hybrid composites with or without a basic drug content,
e.g., 2-[4-(2-methylpropyl)phenyl]propanoic acid (ibuprofen), obtained at different pH values. Through sol-gel approach of the polymeric matrix chloro-propyltriethoxysilane with a PEG precursor that contains a fluorescent dye (lissamine rhodamine-B sulphonyl chloride), new kind of hybrid materials were obtained in which silica aggregates were dispersed in the form of domains with typical sizes in the micrometer range, while the formation of quasi-spherical particles of nanometer dimensions was connected with PEG cladded and PEG-connected silica structures. The incorporation of ibuprofen within sol-gel derived matrix is expected to lead to compounds that allow a controlled and reproducible release of the drug. At the same time, in order to provide quality films highly required in the controlled released drug systems and to study the influence of the derivative group on both film structure and morphology, thin films of novel PEG derivatives with carboxyl and amine functional groups through matrix-assisted pulsed laser evaporation technique (MAPLE) were obtained.