Layered Double Hydroxides as an Intercalation System for Hydrophobic Molecules

Area of Science:

• Materials Science
• Nanotechnology
• Drug Delivery Systems

Background:

• Layered double hydroxides (LDHs) are recognized for their biocompatibility and controlled release properties, making them promising drug carriers.
• Current research primarily utilizes LDHs for anionic drugs, with limited exploration for hydrophobic drug delivery.
• Developing effective methods for loading hydrophobic drugs into LDHs is crucial for expanding their therapeutic applications.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop and optimize a method for loading hydrophobic drugs into LDHs.
• To investigate the role of sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS) as an intermediate for hydrophobic drug intercalation.
• To determine the optimal SDS/NR molar ratio for maximizing drug loading efficiency.

Main Methods:

• Utilized Nile red (NR) as a hydrophobic drug mimic.
• Employed sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS) as an intermediate storage medium for NR intercalation into LDHs.
• Optimized experimental conditions and systematically varied the SDS/NR molar ratio (2/1 to 32/1).

Main Results:

• Successfully achieved intercalation of the hydrophobic drug mimic, Nile red (NR), into LDHs using SDS.
• The loading efficiency of LDH-SDS-NR for NR varied with the SDS/NR molar ratio, peaking at 6.31% for the 32/1 ratio.
• Loading efficiency increased from 1.32% (2/1 ratio) to 4.46% (8/1 ratio), with a slight decrease before a final increase.

Conclusions:

• The developed method effectively enables the loading of hydrophobic drugs into LDHs.
• This research expands the potential applications of LDHs as versatile drug delivery systems for hydrophobic compounds.
• The findings contribute to the broader utilization of LDHs in pharmaceutical and biomedical fields.