Mössbauer, XRD and TEM Study on the Intercalation and the Release of Drugs in/from Layered Double Hydroxides

Layered double hydroxides (LDHs) are one of the very important nano-carriers for drug delivery, due to their many advantageous features, such as the ease and low-cost of preparation, low cytotoxicity, good biocompatibility, protection for the intercalated drugs, and the capacity to facilitate the uptake of the loaded drug in the cells. In our previous studies, Mössbauer spectroscopy was applied to monitor structural changes occurring during the incorporation of Fe(III) in MgFeand CaFe-LDHs, and the intercalation of various organic compounds in anionic form. Recently, we have successfully elaborated a protocol for the intercalation and release of indol-2-carboxylate and L-cysteinate in CaFe-LDH. The corresponding structural changes in the LDH samples were studied by XRD, HR-TEM and 57Fe Mössbauer spectroscopy. The Mössbauer spectra reflected small but significant changes upon both the intercalation and the release of drugs. The changes in the basal distances could be followed by XRD measurements, and HR-TEM images made these changes visible.