pH-Responsive and magnetic Fe3O4@UiO-66-NH2@PEI nanocomposite as drug nanocarrier: Loading and release study of Imatinib

[Display omitted] •Fe3O4@UiO-66-NH2, a zirconium-based functional organic metal framework was synthesized.•The synthesized nanocomposite can be used as a pH-sensitive drug delivery system.•The imatinib is released in physiological conditions slower than the acid buffer solution, indicating that the release is performed in a controlled manner.•The present study offers an effective approach to provide magnetic and intelligent adsorbents with low cost and excellent performance in the drug delivery system. Fe3O4@UiO-66-NH2, a zirconium-based functional organic metal framework (MOF), after artificial modification by Schiff base reaction between aldehyde groups in glutaraldehyde and amino groups in UiO-66-NH2 and pre-adsorbed polyethyleneimine (PEI) Was synthesized. Synthesized carriers were identified using FT-IR, XRD, VSM, TGA and SEM analysis. Drug loading efficiency, drug release behavior and anti-cancer activity of MOFs/drug with shell core were investigated. In addition, the nanocomposites showed pH-sensitive sensitive behavior. Finally, MTT assay showed effective cytotoxicity, which is a promising result for further biomedical applications.