A polyhedral oligomeric silsesquioxane/molecular sieve codoped molecularly imprinted polymer for gastroretentive drug-controlled release in vivo

Flotation drug delivery system (FDDS) is recognized as an efficient means to improve the therapeutic efficiency and enhance the drug bioavailability. Herein, we have developed a molecularly imprinted polymer (MIP) against capecitabine (CAP) to fabricate a FDDS by exploiting polyhedral oligomeric silsesquioxane (POSS) and Mobil composition of matter no. 41 (MCM-41) as the codopant. The synergistic effect of POSS and MCM-41 endows MIPs with enhanced imprinting effect and improved mass transfer efficiency. The impacts of the type of dopant, the type of functional monomer, the template/functional monomer ratio and the functional monomer/cross-linker ratio on imprinting effect have been investigated in detail. The POSS/MCM-41 codoped MIPs present favourable sustained release property in vitro and in vivo, displaying a high relative bioavailability of 173.4%. The proposed MIPs with high selectivity and superior physical and chemical stability exhibit potential as an alternative drug carrier applied in FDDS.