Layered nanohydroxyapatite as a novel nanocarrier for controlled delivery of 5-fluorouracil

• A novel drug carrier based on layered nanohydroxyapatite (L-nHAp) was synthesized.
• The intercalation of 5-fluorouracil (5FU) into the gallery of L-nHAp is evidenced.
• The loading amount of 5FU in L-nHAp is as high as 130.1 mg/g.
• The release of 5FU from L-nHAp/5FU was more controllable than rodlike HAp counterpart.

Layered materials intercalated by drug molecules have attracted much attention since they exhibit improved safety and effectiveness in drug delivery. In this work, layered nanohydroxyapatite (L-nHAp) was synthesized by template method and a model anticancer drug 5-fluorouracil (5FU) was loaded by intercalation technique. The morphology and structure of L-nHAp/5FU hybrids were characterized by transmission electron microscopy (TEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), and thermogravimetric analysis (TGA). XRD and FTIR revealed the successful drug intercalation into the gallery of L-nHAp. TGA evidenced enhanced thermal stability of the drug molecules in the gallery of L-nHAp. The in vitro release experiments demonstrated that the release of 5FU from L-nHAp/5FU was slower than that from rodlike nanohydroxyapatite (R-nHAp)/5FU. Furthermore, the release of 5FU from L-nHAp/5FU hybrid could be fitted by first-order, Higuchi, and Rigter-Pappas models. It is believed that L-nHAp may be a promising carrier for anticancer drugs.

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