Using carbonized hybrid FeNPs@ZIF-8 for the sustained release of doxorubicin hydrochloride

Controlling the slow release of drugs in carriers and reducing environmental pollution and damage from antibiotics is important and challenging research. In this paper, a novel composite material of carbonized [email protected] (C-Fe3O4 @ZIF-8) was used to load and release doxorubicin hydrochloride (DOX). Compared with conventional ZIFs materials, greatly enhancing the magnetic properties, drug loading capacity and controlled drug release of the carrier agent. Interestingly, by establishing a dual stimulus response system with environmental factors of pH and temperature, results showed release rate of 61.6 % at a pH of 3 and a temperature of 37 °C. In addition, the SEM-EDS results showed that the surface of C-Fe3O4 @ZIF-8 was partially broken but maintained a stable morphology before and after release. Meanwhile the nitrogen absorption desorption curve (BET) and hysteresis loop reveal that C-Fe3O4 @ZIF-8 can maintain a large specific surface area and a magnetization intensity of 12.4 emu g−1 after release. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), on the other hand, reveal the presence of partial ligand and hydrogen bond breaks during the release of DOX from DOX-loaded C-Fe3O4 @ZIF-8. Finally, the release of DOX from C-Fe3O4 @ZIF-8 at different pH and temperature is consistent with the Higuch and Bhaskas models, where the latter dominates and proposes a release mechanism. Therefore, the magnetic composite C-Fe3O4 @ZIF-8 in this study has great potential for DOX to effectively control drug release and targeted cancer therapy.