Metronidazole loading in MIL-101(Fe) and investigation of release in various body fluids

Metal organic frameworks (MOFs) have a promising application for targeted delivery and controlled release of drugs. The aim of this work was to study the potential of MIL-101 (Fe) for prolonged drug release. In this study, we synthesized MIL-101(Fe) using the hydrothermal method. This MOF has a high surface area, acceptable pore aperture sizes, polymer components (iron and terephthalic acid) have low toxicity, in addition, this material is capable of biodegradation. For the above reasons, MIL-101(Fe) was chosen by us as the carrier of the medicinal substance. Metronidazole is encapsulated (10% by weight) in MOF. The synthesized materials were characterized by the methods of powder X-ray diffractometry, porosimetry and scanning electron microscopy. These methods confirmed the loading of the drug substance into the pores of MIL-101(Fe), and also showed the absence of the effect of metronidazole encapsulation on the structure of the MOF. In this paper, we conducted a study on the release of metronidazole from MIL-101(Fe) in water and model biological fluids and showed that the complete release of metronidazole in artificial saliva was observed for 7.5 hours, with a cumulative release of 92.74±2.04%, in serum - after 9 hours, with a cumulative release of 80.36±1.57%. The selectivity of metronidazole release from MIL-101(Fe) in various media was revealed.