Engineering the Morphostructural Properties and Drug Loading Degree of Organic-Inorganic Fluorouracil-MgAl LDH Nanohybrids by Rational Control of Hydrothermal Treatment.

Layered double hydroxides (LDHs) or hydrotalcite-like compounds have attracted great attention for the delivery of anticancer drugs due to their 2D structure, exhibiting a high surface-to-volume ratio and a high chemical versatility. The drug is protected between the layers from which it is slowly released, thus increasing the therapeutic effect and minimizing the side effects associated to nonspecific targeting. This work aimed to design LDHs with Mg and Al (molar ratio of 2/1) in brucite-like layers, which retained fluorouracil (5-FU; 5-FU/Al = 1, molar ratio) in the interlayer gallery as the layers grow during the co-precipitation step of the synthesis.