Magnetite
(Fe3O4) nanoparticles as drug carriers
can achieve precise drug target due to their magnetic property. However,
they are easy to aggregate in the physiological environment, which
obviously limits their application in drug delivery. The development
of the Fe-MIL-88B-derived method to construct the Fe3O4-loaded mesoporous carbon (Fe3O4/carbon)
system is a feasible strategy to solve the issue. First, iron atoms
evenly distribute in the organic links through coordination bonds
in Fe-MIL-88B. After the carbonization of Fe-MIL-88B, mesoporous carbon
acts as a barrier to prevent the aggregation of Fe3O4 nanoparticles. Herein, Fe-MIL-88B particles were fabricated
by the hydrothermal method and then pyrolyzed to construct Fe3O4/carbon systems. Results showed that Fe3O4 nanoparticles uniformly in situ grew on mesoporous
carbon generated by the carbonization of organic components. More
encouragingly, the Fe3O4/carbon system loaded
with DOX demonstrated pH-responsive DOX release, efficient delivery
of DOX into cancer cells, and significant cancer cell killing ability.
Therefore, the Fe3O4/carbon systems prepared
by the Fe-MIL-88B-derived method might open up a way for targeted
and controlled drug delivery.