The Prospects of Layered Alumino-silicates in the Synthesis of Nano-Excipients for Controlled Release Systems

Over the past six decades, there has been a growing need for designing controlled release formulations of drugs and agrochemicals in order to attain an extended therapeutic effect of various active ingredients, improve patient convenience, maintain steady state of active ingredients-target site interaction, optimize release kinetics, reduce side effects as well as improve the way in which the active ingredients are delivered into the targeted organ. On account of that, researchers in the course of time have developed three generations of controlled release systems (CRSs) namely, first generation which consist of basics of controlled release systems; second generation which consist of smart delivery systems; and third generation which consist of modulated delivery systems. In view of challenges emanating from CRS usage such as difficulties in retrieving active ingredients upon hypersensitivity, decreased systemic availability as well as poor in vitro-in vivo correlation, the need to further the design of CRSs using nano-excipients set-in. Consequently, opportunities aiming at synthesizing effective nano-based-excipients of active ingredients using in situ polymerization, graft polymerization, copolymerization and intercalation emerged. With regard to intercalation technique, application of 2:1 layered nano materials as nano-excipients has been a success leaving behind a question of what limits the application of 1:1 layered nano materials as nano-excipients in CRS industry. This paper therefore, intends to provide an overview of progress made in the application of 1:1 layered nano-materials as nano-excipients by using first generation intercalation compounds technically called intermediate intercalation agents.