Nanoscale iron carboxylate metal organic frameworks as drug carriers for magnetically aided intracellular delivery

In this paper, we report the synthesis, characterisation, and controlled drug delivery applications of drug-encapsulated iron carboxylate nanoscale metal organic frameworks (NMOFs). The nanoscale frameworks, blank and drug-encapsulated, were synthesized in a normal micellar medium, using two different coordination solvents (DMF and DMSO). Structural aspects were studied using TEM and FESEM, from the results of which, we concluded that formed frameworks are reasonably monodisperse and have spherical geometry. The study of their magnetic behaviour using VSM revealed that the saturation magnetization values are markedly different for the NMOFs synthesized in the two coordinating solvents, which is attributed to the different ligand strengths of the coordinating solvents. Nile red or doxorubicin hydrochloride were encapsulated within the formed NMOFs, which showed slow and sustained drug release behavior. The superparamagnetic properties of the NMOFs prepared in DMF as coordinating solvent were exploited for magnetically aided delivery to cells in vitro. Cell viability studies revealed enhanced cytotoxicity for drug-encapsulated nanoparticles when compared to that of the free drug.