Synthesis of bimodal mesoporous carbon spheres from biomass starch and CBZ release

Well-dispersed bimodal mesoporous carbon spheres (BMCSs) with abundant porosity were prepared through a convenient stirring method, in which silica particles were added to improve the porosity of the products. No toxic organic solvent was involved. Thus, the procedure was green and productive. The BMCSs exhibited single or bimodal mesoporous structure, tunable mesopore volume, and specific surface area, which depended on starch concentration. Carbamazepine (CBZ), due to its poor water-solubility and low release rate, was selected as a model drug and loaded onto the as-prepared BMCSs to investigate its release behavior. The experimental results showed that the dissolution rate was significantly increased after CBZ loading onto BMCSs than the pure CBZ, which could be explained by the noncrystalline state, improved dispersibility, and nanoscale size of CBZ in the pore channels of the BMCSs. (C) 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.