Facile in situ synthesis and characterization of Fe@Si/zeolite Na composites with magnetic core–shell structures from natural materials for enhanced curcumin loading capacity

Curcumin is a natural polyphenol that is used in various traditional medicines. However, its inherent properties, such as its rapid degradation and metabolism, low bioavailability, and short half-life, are serious problems that must be resolved. To this end, a drug carrier incorporating natural magnetic cores in a zeolite framework was developed and applied to the loading of curcumin in ethanol solutions. In this system, curcumin is encapsulated in a zeolite Na (ZNA) magnetic core–shell structure (Fe@Si/ZNA), which can be easily synthesized using an in situ method. Synthesis of Fe3O4 nanoparticles was carried out from natural materials using a co-precipitation method. Analysis of the prepared magnetic core–shell structures and composites was carried out using vibrating-sample magnetometery, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, transmission electron microscopy, and x-ray diffraction. The cumulative loading of curcumin in the ZNA composite with 9% nanoparticles was found to reach 90.70% with a relatively long half-life of 32.49 min. Stability tests of curcumin loading in the composite showed that adding magnetic particles to the zeolite framework also increased the stability of the composite structure. Adsorption kinetics and isotherm studies also found that the system follows the pseudo-second-order and Langmuir isotherm models.