Inclusion and release of cytisine in mesoporous silicate materials: an agent for smoking cessation

Cytisine is a natural compound obtained primarily from the seeds of the plant Cytisus laburnum . Cytisine has been used as a smoking cessation drug and has a mechanism of action similar to that of nicotine. In this work, we aim to control the cytisine release by loading it onto mesoporous silicate materials MCM-41 and MCM-48. The mesoporous silicate systems were synthesized and characterized by XRD, SEM, FT-IR spectroscopy and N 2 -adsorption/desorption isotherms. Loading of cytisine onto mesoporous silicate materials was confirmed by FT-IR and TGA and found to be 21.8% and 21.4% for MCM-41 and MCM-48, respectively. The release profiles of cytisine from both systems were investigated in a phosphate buffer medium at pH = 7.4 and t = 37 °C. A controlled release of cytisine from MCM-41 was observed with the release of 95% of loaded cytisine in 9 h.