Paper Title
Development Of (Hydroxyapatite/Montmorillonite-Fusidic Acid Nanocomposite) As A Drug Nanodelivery System

Abstract
Nanocomposite of hydroxyapatite/montmorillonite, loaded with fusidic acid (HAMNF) to be used as a nanodelivery agent for a drug was developed using a simple powder sintering technique and adsorption process. The drug loading dependency with temperature, as well as the sustained release properties of the drug from the nanocomposite, HAMNF were evaluated. The presence of montmorillonite was found to increase the amount of the drug that can be loaded by 38 %, from 1.36 mg to 1.87 mg at 37 °C, but the presence of a high amount of MMT in HAMN reduced the amount of the loaded drug. The amount of the drug loaded was significantly decreased as the loading temperature was increased to 50 °C and 70 °C for both HA and HAMN prepared using 80 % HA (80HAMN). Due to the incorporation of MMT, the release of fusidic acid occurred in a controlled manner. The pristine HA-encapsulated fusidic acid at 37 °C showed a fast release of about 50 % of fusidic acid in less than 24 hours while HA-encapsulated fusidic acid at 50 °C and 70 °C were released of around 10 % and 22 %, respectively. The enhancement of bioactive features and sustained release of fusidic acid from HAMN evinced the ability of the nanocomposite as a candidate for drug delivery systems with perpetuated release potential. This is towards the up conversion of hydroxyapatite for dual functionalities, bone tissue engineering and drug delivery agent.