Precipitated Calcium Carbonate Nano-Microparticles: Applications in Drug Delivery

Abstract

Calcium carbonate (CaCO3) precipitated particles present huge applications in drug delivery systems because their characteristics (such as size distribution, crystalline phase and specific surface area) can be precisely tailored during the synthesis. Besides this, most of the processing methods present competitive costs and produce highly biocompatible materials. This work reviewed briefly some of the many chemical and biological synthesis methods for CaCO3 nano-microparticles as well as their combination with different macromolecules (active principles, polyelectrolytes and DNA)..

3D Printed Laminated CaCO3-Nanocellulose Films as Controlled-Release 5-Fluorouracil

“…The synthesized CaCO 3 crystals exhibited multiple porous structures with high surface area as desired for the adsorption process through the precipitation reaction of sodium carbonate and calcium chloride, as shown in Figure 1b. Referring to previous studies, the CaCO 3 shape obtained was vaterite due to its irregular shape and flower-like particle, which benefited this study since the shape had good prospects in being drug delivery carriers [32,33].…”

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

“…The existing synthesis methods for obtaining CaCO 3 nano/microparticles can be divided into two categories: chemical [94,95,96,97] and microbiological [98,99,100,101]. The latter approach is a bacteria-mediated synthesis, which employs products of microbial metabolism containing carbonate ions which react with the calcium ions present in the environment to form CaCO 3 [97]. Chemical methods are generally based on the emulsion technique [102,103] and the precipitation reaction [104].…”

“…In recent years, many efforts have been made to elaborate an in-depth understanding the growth mechanism of CaCO 3 and to reveal experimental conditions promoting the vaterite particles crystallization. Some of the most impressive results in this field are discussed by Costa et al and Trushina et al [94,97]. Concentration of the applied sources of Ca 2+ and CO 3 2− , their type, pH, temperature, mixing speed and the intensity of agitation of the reaction mixture is found to determine the resultant CaCO 3 polymorph, particle size, morphology and stability of the precipitates [94,96,112,113].…”

“…(A: Average Diameter; B: Crystalline Phase; C: Crystalline System). Reproduced with permission from [97]. MedCrave, 2017.…”

Inter-protein interactions govern protein loading into porous vaterite CaCO3 crystals

“…These crystals can be formulated in a wide range of sizes starting from tens of nm 16,17 up to tens of mm. 18 The shape of the particles also can be tuned. 19 Importantly, although the synthesis of CaCO 3 is commonly performed in the presence of organic solvents 20 and polymer additives [21][22][23] and various stimuli 24 can be used to control its pore size, 9 recently the mild way to produce vaterite CaCO 3 crystals in aqueous media at a pH close to near neutral (7)(8) and ionic strength close to physiological values has been proposed.…”