The effect of Framework Structure, Composition and Sorbate - Framework Interactions on Controlled Anticancer Drug Release by Zeolites.

Zeolites are a promising group of materials for use in controlled delivery systems of anticancer drugs such as 5-Fluorouracil (5-FU) as they are crystalline, relatively cheap and possess channels and cavities that are suitable for accommodating different drugs. We will use INS to probe the interactions of 5-FU upon adsorption into acidic faujasite (FAU) and beta type (BEA) zeolites, (counterion H+) whilst varying the Si/Al ratios (Si/Al = 5 and 80 for FAU, 12.5 and 360 for BEA) and thus the number of adsorption sites. We aim to observe shifts and broadenings of bands for both the zeolite hydroxyls and the 5-FU functional groups upon interaction with zeolite Brønsted acid sites. Understanding the strength of such interactions will help us gain significant insight into preliminary data from experimental release profiles, which shows faster release in zeolites with higher Si/Al ratios.