Abstract
Green nanocomposites of Fe
0
@chitosan/cellulose (Fe
0
@CH/CS) were synthesized utilizing a green extract of
Khaya senegalensis
leaves and sugarcane bagasse as a cellulose precursor. The composite was evaluated as an effective carrier for ibuprofen drug (IBF) considering its release and loading properties. The Fe
0
@CH/CS composite has a significant IBF loading capacity of 553 mg g
−1
, and the loading behavior can be directed by the values of the experimental variables. The loading of IBF into Fe
0
@CH/CS is in agreement with the classic Langmuir isotherm (
R
2
> 0.95) and pseudo-first-order kinetic (
R
2
> 0.97). This displays homogeneity, physisorption, and monolayer loading of IBF into Fe
0
@CH/CS. Based on the findings of the monolayer model with one energy as an advanced isotherm model, the Fe
0
@CH/CS structure has 252.6 mg g
−1
active receptor density and each receptor is occupied by two or three IBF ions (
n
= 2.18)
via
a multi-molecular mechanism. The determined IBF loading energy (4.81 kJ mol
−1
) demonstrates the physical loading of the drug by van der Waals forces and/or hydrogen bonding. The Fe
0
@CH/CS structure has significant release profiles as a carrier for IBF, which continued up to 260 h (gastric buffer) and 180 h (intestinal buffer). The studied release kinetics and the obtained diffusion exponent (0.58 (pH 1.2) and 0.48 (pH 7.4)) reflect the release of IBF from Fe
0
@CH/CS by complex diffusion and erosion mechanisms. The cytotoxicity tests declared the safety and biocompatibility of both Fe
0
@CH/CS and IBF-loaded Fe
0
@CH/CS in human bronchial epithelial cells.