Preparation and application of mesoporous Fe/carbon composites as a drug carrier

A co-casting method has been introduced to synthesize mesoporous composites of α-Fe and ordered mesoporous carbon with α-Fe nanoparticles embedded in the wall of the carbon. The composites were characterized by a variety of techniques. The composites show superparamagnetic behavior, and they were tested as a carrier for the drug, tetracycline hydrochloride. The mesopore surface area and mesopore volume of the composites are crucial factors for the adsorption of the drug. The TH desorption kinetics were also examined, showing that the experimental data fits pseudo-second-order kinetic model very well. The results suggested that the composites could be interesting for drug delivery applications.