Revista de nanomateriales y nanotecnología molecular

Synthesis and Characterization of Betulinic Acid-Aminopropyltriethoxysilane Compounds and Their Assembly onto Nanoporous Alumina Surfaces as Potential Therapeutic Agents

Abdul Hadi Mahmud, Abdul Mutalib Md Jani and Mohd Tajudin Mohd Ali

The present study describes the synthesizing and attaching of betulinic acid-aminopropyl triethoxysilane (BA-APTES) on top of the nanoporous alumina (NA) surface. The NA was fabricated by using electrochemical anodization process under an applied voltage of 40 V for 20 hours resulting in average pore size of 45 nm characterized by Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM). The well-recognized therapeutic compound, betulinic acid (BA) was first extracted from the bark of Melaleuca cajuputi plant and further purified by column chromatography. The purified BA was incorporated with APTES using 1-hydroxybenzotriazole hydrate (HOBt) and O-(Benzotriazol-1-yl)-N,N,N’-tetramethyluronium hexafluorophosphate (HBTU) as a peptide coupling agent. The synthesized BA-APTES was silanized on top of the fabricated NA surface. The aromatic portion of 1H and 13C of the synthesized BA-APTES compound was validated by means of Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR). The FTIR spectra show emerging peaks at 2900 cm-1 and 1250 cm-1 signifying the present of aldehyde and also aliphatic amine on NA, respectively. With the aid of XPS analysis, the chemical composition of BA-APTES has evidenced that the presence of the compounds on the surface of NA membrane. Hence, the authors suggest that the modified NA surface has a potential to be applied as a new material for therapeutic agent.