Studies on the intercalation of naproxen into layered double hydroxide and its thermal decomposition by in situ FT-IR and in situ HT-XRD

Layered double hydroxides, novel anionic clay, meet the first requirement as inorganic matrices for encapsulating functional drugs or biomolecules with negative charge in aqueous media. In this study, naproxen has been intercalated into Mg-Al layered double hydroxide by the methods of ion exchange. The structure and composition of the intercalated material have been studied by X-ray diffraction (XRD), UV-vis spectroscopy and inductively coupled plasma emission spectroscopy. A schematic model has been proposed. Furthermore, in situ Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, in situ high-temperature XRD, and thermogravimetry (TG) have been used to characterize the thermal decomposition of the hybrid material. It has been found that the thermal stability of the intercalated naproxen is significantly enhanced compared with the pure form before intercalation, which suggests that this drug-inorganic layered material may have prospective application as the basis of a novel drug delivery system.