OICC Press Progress in Biomaterials 2194-0517 13 03 2024 09 30 Synthesis and Kinetic Study of Ion-Doped Zif-8 Nanocarriers for a Flutamide Delivery 10.57647/pibm.2024.132411 EN Noushita Gilianinezhad Department of Chemistry, NT.C., Islamic Azad University, Tehran, Iran Hoda Pasdar Department of Chemistry, NT.C., Islamic Azad University, Tehran, Iran Mohammad Yousefi Department of Chemistry, TeMS.C., Islamic Azad University, Tehran, Iran Mandana Saber-Tehrani Department of Chemistry, NT.C., Islamic Azad University, Tehran, Iran Malak Hekmati Department of Pharmaceutical Chemistry, TeMS.C., Islamic Azad University, Tehran, Iran Journal Article 2024 09 30 Here, we describe characterization of new Zif-8 composites doped with magnetite (Fe3O4) and gold (Au) nanoparticles, labeled Zif-8-Fe and Zif-8-Au, to precisely tune their release kinetics, drug loading, and porosity. Geometry modification was observed in SEM images  after ion doping, with the mean size ranging from 50-80 nm for Zif-8 and Zif-8-Au and about 500 nm for Zif-8-Fe. A clear XRD peak shift confirmed the successful incorporation of dopant ions. Brunauer-Emmett-Teller (BET) analysis revealed that while Au doping  significantly reduced the material’s surface area and pore volume, Fe doping remarkably enhanced these properties (556 vs 2676 m2/g and 0.26 vs 1 cm3/g, respectively). This directly impacted drug loading, with the Zif-8-Fe composite demonstrating the highest loading capacity (18.8 mg/g) and Zif-8-Au showing the lowest (7.2 mg/g). In vitro drug release studies further demonstrated distinct kinetic profiles. The release from all samples followed a Fickian diffusion mechanism, as indicated by the Korsmeyer-Peppas model (n ≈ 0.01 − 0.05). The Zif-8-Fe composite exhibited a desirable sustained-release profile due to its enhanced and more tortuous pore network, while the Zif-8-Au composite showed low-quantity release. The findings demonstrated that ion doping provided a powerful strategy to engineer the structural properties and drug release kinetics of MOFs.