Porous Inorganic Carriers Based on Silica, Calcium Carbonate and Calcium Phosphate for Controlled/Modulated Drug Delivery: Fresh Outlook and Future Perspectives

Porous inorganic nanostructured materials are widely used nowadays as drug delivery carriers due to their adventurous features: suitable architecture, large surface area and stability in the biological fluids. Among the different types of inorganic porous materials, silica, calcium carbonate, and calcium phosphate have received significant attention in the last decade. The use of porous inorganic materials as drug carriers for cancer therapy, gene delivery etc. has the potential to improve the life expectancy of the patients affected by the disease. The main goal of this review is to provide general information on the current state of the art of synthesis of the inorganic porous particles based on silica, calcium carbonate and calcium phosphate. Special focus is dedicated to the loading capacity, controllable release of drugs under internal biological stimuli (e.g., pH, redox, enzymes) and external noninvasive stimuli (e.g., light, magnetic field, and ultrasound). Moreover, the diverse compounds to deliver with silica, calcium carbonate and calcium phosphate particles, ranging from the commercial drugs to genetic materials are also discussed

Modification of stainless steel based on synergistic of low-energy high-intensity ion implantation and high-current electron beam impact on the surface layer

The results of experiments on low-energy implantation of AISI 321 stainless steel by nitrogen ions are presented. The treatment was carried out by a pulsed beam of nitrogen ions obtained using a ballistic ion focusing system. The surface modification occurs with the formation of a two-layer structure, which is typical for ion-plasma nitriding processes of stainless steels. The thickness of the modified layer can reach 27 ?m after 1 hour of ion-plasma treatment. The influence of subsequent modification of the ion-doped layer by the action on the surface of the pulsed high-current electron beam of microsecond duration is studied. The work presents the results of the studying the regularities of changes in the depth distribution of dopants, microstructure and phase composition of the modified and matrix layers by optical metallography, diffraction analysis and transmission electron microscopy