Ultrasonic-Assisted Fabrication of MIL-100(Fe) Metal–Organic Frameworks as a Carrier for the Controlled Delivery of the Chloroquine Drug

Metal–organic framework materials (MOFs) are materials with an ordered crystalline structure and high porosity that have been intensively investigated for many applications, such as gas adsorption, catalysis, sensors, drug delivery, and so on. Among them, the MOF-based drug delivery system has received increasing interest from scientists worldwide. This work presented the preparation of the MIL-100(Fe) metal–organic framework from the organic ligand of trimesic acid and iron ions with ultrasonic assistance. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM), Brunauer–Emmett–Teller surface area (BET), X-ray diffraction (XRD), infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), and Raman spectroscopy were employed to characterize the prepared MIL-100(Fe) material. MIL-100(Fe) materials synthesized by the ultrasonic method have uniform particle morphology ranging from 100 to 300 nm with a surface area of 1033 m2/g. The prepared MIL-100(Fe) was employed as a carrier for delivering chloroquine drug with a maximal loading capacity of 220 mg/g. The MIL-100(Fe)@chloroquine system was also characterized in detail. The delivery system’s slow drug release was studied, showing that nearly 80% of chloroquine molecules were released after 7.5 h of immersing time in PBS and simulated gastric solutions and completely detached from the MIL-100(Fe)@chloroquine system only after approximately 80 h. This result shows the ability to control chloroquine drug release of the material, reducing the possibility of drug shock.