Electrophoretic preparation of an organic-inorganic hybrid of layered metal hydroxide and hydrogel for a potential drug-delivery system

We have prepared organic-inorganic hybrid materials consisting of layered metal hydroxides and hydrogel polymers for potential use as a drug delivery system. The hybrid materials were synthesized by an electrophoretic method; anionic precursors, OH^-/CO₃^2-, and cationic metal Zn²⁺ were migrated into hydrogel by applying an electrical potential of 25 V for 20 min to form inorganic nanocrystals inside the hydrogel matrix. Hydrozincite [Zn₅(OH)₈(CO₃)] nanoparticles, a kind of layered metal hydroxide, were determined to develop inside the hydrogel according to powder X-ray diffraction, FTIR, and X-ray absorption spectroscopy. Scanning electron microscopic images showed that the prepared hybrid materials have well-dispersed inorganic nanoparticles in the hydrogel matrix. In order to evaluate the potential of the thus prepared hybrid materials as a drug-delivery system, the well-known antioxidant ferulic acid was incorporated and their time-dependent release profile was obtained by HPLC. An organic-inorganic hybrid material, agarose-hydrozincite (ZC), was prepared by an electrophoretic method. The thus prepared hybrid material showed homogeneous dispersion of ZC nanoparticles in the polymer matrix and exhibited a sustained release pattern for loaded anionic phenolic acid molecules such as ferulic acid.