Synthesis of Mg<sub>0.5</sub>Fe<sub>2.5</sub>O<sub>4</sub>/Chitosan Nanocomposite for Drug Delivery System

This study developed the synthesis of Mg 0.5 Fe 2.5 O 4 /chitosan nanocomposite and its application as a drug delivery system. Doxorubicin hydrochloride (DOX), as a model drug, was adsorbed onto the surface of the Mg 0.5 Fe 2.5 O 4 /Chitosan nanocomposite, and its loading and release efficiency was observed using UV-Vis spectroscopy. After synthesizing Mg 0.5 Fe 2.5 O 4 /chitosan nanocomposite, various analytical devices were used to qualify and quantify the nanocomposite, including XRD, FTIR, SEM-EDX, and VSM. The XRD results showed that the Mg dopant was well inserted into the Fe 3 O 4 without forming Mg or its oxide phases. The Mg dopant caused shifting of most Fe 3 O 4 peaks to lower angles due to the larger atomic radius of Mg (173 pm) compared to Fe (126 pm). The presence of surfactant was confirmed by FTIR spectrum, indicated by the presence of C-H, C=O, C=C, and O-H bonds at wavenumbers 1339, 1735, 1606, and 3460 cm -1 , respectively. An N-H bond from chitosan was also located at a wavenumber of 3271 cm -1 . Mg 0.5 Fe 2.5 O 4 /Chitosan had a spherical shape that tended to agglomerate due to the nanoparticles. VSM characterization results showed the Mg 0.5 Fe 2.5 O 4 /chitosan nanocomposite was superparamagnetic with a saturation magnetization value of 33.84 emu/g. The drug loading experiment showed that the loaded DOX reached 90% and successfully released the drug rapidly by the burst effect in the drug delivery system.