Synthesis and investigation of magnetic nanocomposite of Fe3O4 with cetirizine-intercalated layered double hydroxide

• A nanocomposite of cetirizine intercalated into Mg–Al LDH/Fe3O4 as a magnetic drug-targeting carrier was prepared.
• There is a strong interaction between positively charged LDH layers and cetirizine anions in the interlayer.
• The thermal stability of cetirizine in magnetic nanocomposite has been improved.
• The nanocomposite possesses superparamagnetic properties at room temperature.

In this research work the nanocomposite CT–LDH/Fe3O4 was prepared by deposition of cetirizine (CT) intercalated-Mg–Al layered double hydroxide (LDH) on Fe3O4 using a co-precipitation method for sustained drug-targeting delivery. The obtained products were characterized by the variety of methods such as (XRD), (FT-IR), (TG) and the elemental analysis. The size and morphology of nanoparticles were examined by the transmission electron microscopy (TEM). The XRD results, showed the coexistence of the strong diffractions of Fe3O4 and cetirizine intercalated LDH. Also, after intercalation, the basal spacing of LDH increased from 0.88 nm to 2.52 nm, indicating that cetirizine anions were successfully intercalated into the interlayer space of LDH as a monolayer. The thermal gravimetric studies indicate the thermal stability of cetirizine molecule has increased with intercalation. In vitro drug release experiments in phosphate buffer solution (pH = 7.4) have been investigated. Magnetic measurements revealed that the nanocomposite displayed superparamagnetic properties at room temperature.