Synthesis, Characterization of Mesoporous γ- alumina by Chemical and Green Routes and Studying Their Applications in Drug Delivery

Dissertation Discussion

The College of Science for women at the University of Baghdad discussed the master’s thesis entitled (Synthesis, Characterization of Mesoporous γ- alumina by Chemical and Green Routes and Studying Their Applications in Drug Delivery(

By the student: Maryam Abdulameer Azeez

Objectives of the Dissertation

The objectives of this study are summarized as follows:

To prepare surfaces of γ-Mesoporous alumina (γ-MA) with unique properties such as surface area, pore size and pore diameter and highly applicable of adsorption, loading, and release of drugs.
To Evaluate the adsorption, drug loading, and release behavior for and Levofloxacin (LEV), Moxifloxacin (MOX), Sulfamethoxazole (SUL) and Hydrocortisone (HYD) drugs and compared with nano alumina purchased from local markets (T/γ-MA).

The study involves two different preparation methods: chemical (sol-gel method) and green (using plant extract), using aluminum nitrate as a cheap source of alumina under different conditions. In the chemical method, two anionic surfactants, sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS) and dioctyl sulfosuccinate sodium salt (AOT) was used as a soft template. In the green approach, leaf extract from the Zyziphus Spina Christi Tree was utilized as a green template. Next, compare them using various analyses, such as the BET technique for surface area measurement and BJH for porosity, XRD, SAXRD, AFM, FTIR, SEM, and EDX.

Content of the Dissertation

This study, which was conducted at the University of Baghdad / College of Science for Women / Department of Chemistry, Some tests were conducted at the Ministry of Science and Technology – University of Technology/Nanotechnology Center.

Dissertation Recommendations

The most important recommendations which the study has come up with and the average obtained:

1. The effects of other surfactants and alumina precursors in the sol-gel method could be studied to understand their impacts.
2. Modifying and functionalizing γ-MA to improve its selectivity and adsorption efficiency.
3. Due to the negligible adsorption efficiency observed for the drugs (gentamicin, cefepime, amikacin, lincomycin, paracetamol, amoxicillin, betamethasone, diclofenac sodium, and meropenem.) onto the synthesized mesoporous alumina under the current experimental parameters, it is recommended for future studies to optimize the physicochemical conditions. Specifically, exploring a wider range of pH values and adjusting the thermal conditions could potentially enhance the electrostatic interactions and adsorption capacity.

Picture of the Committee members