Clay minerals are abundantly found in nature, they are alumino-silicates and the materials derived from them are usually low cost. The chemical and biogeochemical properties of clay minerals are of interest to researchers all around the globe. Loxwood Claypits is one of the principal clay resources which can be used for various industrial applications like pharmaceuticals and many more all over Europe and other countries.
The biomedical and pharmaceutical applications of clay materials have extensively grown in recent years due to researchers' interest in finding low-cost alternative materials for problem-solving in the fields of medicine and pharmaceutical science. In these areas, clay minerals and their derivatives are commonly used as dietary supplements and are widely applied in formulations of drug and delivery systems, dermatology, pelotherapy, and fun therapy. Clay minerals are also taken to calm the intestinal tract and remove toxins.
Properties of clay minerals suitable for its application in pharmaceutical-
- Naturally abundant aluminosilicates that often occur as sediments in many parts of the world are known as clay minerals. They are found in nature as large or small deposits that cover the surface of the earth. They shape a primary part of the soil in which plants grow and are a major source of various industrial products such as adsorbents, cosmetics, pharmaceuticals, paints, veterinary drugs, and biocides.
- Clay minerals are composed of diverse elements, including transition metals, and can interact with microorganisms in the soil. Some elements can act as mineral sources for a variety of biological functions, while others can be toxic to the organism. The chemical properties of clay minerals have a significant effect on the mineral phyllosphere and the types of microorganisms that can live in the environment.
- Clay minerals are broadly carried out withinside the fields of biomedical sciences, particularly drug transport systems, treatment options for numerous sorts of illnesses and illnesses, sources of nutritional supplements, dermatology, and pharmaceuticals. Clay minerals are usually utilized in formulations to grow drug solubility, stabilize photolabile drugs under UV light, and slow down their release rate. Therefore, they are considered biomaterials with mild bioactivity. Of the clay minerals, montmorillonite has been the most widely used and investigated.
Biomedical and Pharmaceutical Applications of Clay Minerals:
- Clay Minerals as Dietary Supplements-
Ingestion of natural clay minerals, usually in the form of suspensions, is commonly used as a source of dietary supplements, as an antidote, and as an allogeneic therapy for acute and chronic diarrhea of soil materials such as clay by animals. Intentional Consumption of clay mineral by humans and animals are known as geophagy. Geophagy is a poorly understood habit, primarily due to cultural practices, religious beliefs, medicinal properties, psychological disorders, and dietary/nutritional needs. Historically, it's far believed to be practiced to treat a physiological reaction to mineral nutrient deficiencies, along with calcium, magnesium, iron, or zinc, to fulfill the nutritional dietary requirement; to ease obsessive-compulsive disease and psychosocial issues consisting of anxiety.
- Clay Minerals as Detoxifying Agents-
It has been proven through numerous researchers that, withinside the acidic surroundings of the stomach, clay minerals can adsorb or bind immediately with positively and negatively charged toxins and serve as a detoxifying agent. There are drug formulations that have been reportedly sold over the counter that are reportedly originally containing clay minerals such as kaolinite and attapulgite to treat diarrhea and intestinal illnesses and relieve gastrointestinal illnesses, however, a number of those capsules have been reformulated and now include bismuth subsalicylate in preference to kaolinite or attapulgite. The biological use of natural clay minerals as antidotes may be due to their ability to absorb lipids, proteins, bacteria, and viruses. Clay can also adsorb toxins from the skin and is used to catalyze the treatment of rheumatism.
- Clays in Drug Delivery and Pharmaceutical Formulations-
New organic and inorganic clay hybrid materials have been developed and due to their fast, safe and efficient transport mechanism, their application to drug delivery systems (DDS) and various formulations has been extensively studied over the decades. Poly (d, l-lactide-coglycolide) / montmorillonite (Olga / MMT) nanoparticles (PLGA) decorated with trastuzumab (human epidermal growth factor receptor-2 (HER2) antibody), a chemotherapeutic drug for the treatment of breast cancer was developed. The drug has been shown to exert a synergistic therapeutic effect by reducing the harmful side effects of the model anticancer drug used (paclitaxel (Pac)) and achieving targeted delivery. Many other approaches have also been taken to improve drug release.
- Dermatological Application-
In dermatology, clay minerals are used not only to help produce ointments for the treatment of oily skin and acne but also to release the drug with controlled dynamics in the systemic circulation through passive diffusion throughout the skin. Clay minerals are also used as a pharmaceutical ingredient in transdermal drug delivery systems (TDDS). Studies have shown that key factors related to skin permeability of drug molecules, such as diffusion coefficient, concentration gradient, and partition coefficient, can be controlled by incorporating clay minerals into the formulation. Indomethacin has been reported to have excellent skin permeability efficiency as assessed by the in vitro Franz cell diffusion method when combined with montmorillonite. The indomethacin-montmorillonite (IDM-Mnt) complex formed by this process was found to be nearly three times more soluble than raw indomethacin as a result of the hydrogen bonds formed between the drug and the clay mineral. The application of clay to cosmetics has been reported by Carretero and Pozo.
In modern-day use of clay is not only limited to pottery or brick making but instead, clay has now become one the most essential natural resource for mankind which has a key role to play in practically every industry. Loxwood Clay Pits are the principal clay resource and can be a major source of Loxwood clay which can facilitate the supply of clay for various industrial applications like pharmaceutical companies and many more all over Europe. Visit our website to know more...
