Graphite Oxide-Based Magnetic Aerogels as Sorbents of Doxorubicin

This paper reports novel techniques for the preparation of aerogels based on graphite oxide (GO) and nanocomposites of GO and superparamagnetic iron oxide nanoparticles (GO/Fe3O4) and discusses specific features of the synthesized materials as sorbents of doxorubicin from aqueous solutions. Sorption efficiency of the aerogel based on GO and superparamagnetic iron oxide nanoparticles (GO/Fe3O4) and the GO aerogel has been determined to be about 50 and 85%, respectively. At the same time, one advantage of the magnetic aerogel is that the sorbent can be removed from solution by an external magnetic field. In the case of the formal description of the sorption process by the pseudo-first-order rate equation $$W(\tau ) = W(\infty )\left( {1 - {{{\text{e}}}^{{ - k\tau }}}} \right),$$ where W is sorption efficiency, the rate constant is k = 0.042 ± 0.004 min–1 for graphite oxide and 0.0832 ± 0.018 min–1 for the GO/Fe3O4 nanocomposite. The GO/Fe3O4 composite saturates about a factor of 2 more rapidly than pure GO. Sorption by the magnetic aerogel is an exothermic process. The highest efficiency of sorption from a solution with a concentration of 40 mg/L was 95% at 25°C and 60% at 40°C. The present results demonstrate that magnetic graphite aerogels are potentially attractive for use as sorbents and matrices for prolonged-release antitumor drugs.