Abstract:
Metal organic frameworks are a class of porous materials having distinctive features such as large surface area, improved porosity, stability, and tunable structure. They exhibit diverse range of applications. MOFs can be surface engineered with different biomolecules or polymers to enhance stability, functionality, and biocompatibility. Recently, many MOFs have been explored for the application of drug delivery. However, MOFs as drug carriers still have some limitations like uncontrollable release of drug, cytotoxicity, and biocompatibility. To resolve the uncontrolled release problem, MOFs are conjugated with other materials for the fabrication of adsorbent materials, exhibiting desired properties and appropriate application. The aim of this work is to open new avenues for drug control release.
Zeolitic Imidazole Framework-8 (ZIF-8) has improved structural porosity, flexibility, surface functionality and crystalline nature making it feasible to be utilized in the field of drug delivery. ZIF-8 is modified with cellulose to make it hydrophobic and to obtain aqueous stability. The biodegradability, higher surface area, and flexible binding interaction between the cellulose and ZIF-8 have made it an ideal choice for drug control studies. In order to enhance the properties ZIF-8 and cellulose is modified with TiO2 for biomedical purposes including biocompatibility, controlled release of drug and targeted drug delivery.
The FTIR analysis shows a significant peak at 420cm-1 confirming the Zn-N bond along with peaks at 3648cm-1, 1940cm-1, 1345cm-1, and 1200 cm-1 confirming the O-H of the polymer, C=N vibration, C-N vibration of imidazole and C-O vibration of the composite. Peak at 650cm-1 corresponds to the N-Ti-O bond which confirms the incorporation of TiO2
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particles inside the MOF structure. Moreover, XRD analysis shows characteristic peak positions at 23.03°, 25.77°, 38.14°, 48.55°, 54.28° and 55.57° confirming the presence of ZIF8, Cellulose and TiO2. Comparative drug release studies of ZIF-8 and modified ZIF-8 were performed at acidic, basic, and neutral pH with respect to time. The maximum release of 91% of cyclophosphamide was obtained under acidic conditions. This is because modified MOF makes strong linkages with the molecules of CP drug and therefore entangle with the molecules of drug owing to the addition of cellulose as well as TiO2
