Hexakis(dimethyl sulfoxide)scandium(III) iodide, [Sc(OS(CH₃)₂)₆]I₃ contains centrosymmetric hexasolvated scandium(III) ions with an Sc–O bond distance of 2.069(3) Å. EXAFS spectra yield a mean Sc–O bond distance of 2.09(1) Å for solvated scandium(III) ions in dimethyl sulfoxide solution, consistent with six-coordination. Raman and infrared absorption spectra have been recorded, also of the deuterated compound, and analysed by means of normal coordinate methods, together with spectra of dimethyl sulfoxide. The effects on the vibrational spectra of the weak intermolecular C–H⋯O interactions and of the dipole–dipole interactions in liquid dimethyl sulfoxide have been evaluated, in particular for the S–O stretching mode. The strong Raman band at 1043.6 cm⁻¹ and the intense IR absorption at 1062.6 cm⁻¹ have been assigned as the S–O stretching frequencies of the dominating species in liquid dimethyl sulfoxide, evaluated as centrosymmetric dimers with antiparallel polar S–O groups. The shifts of vibrational frequencies and force constants for coordinated dimethyl sulfoxide ligands in hexasolvated trivalent metal ion complexes are discussed. Hexasolvated scandium(III) ions are found in dimethyl sulfoxide solution and in [Sc(OSMe₂)₆]I₃. The iodide ion–dipole attraction shifts the methyl group C–H stretching frequency for (S–)C–H⋯I⁻ more than for the intermolecular (S–)C–H⋯O interactions in liquid dimethyl sulfoxide.

Metal-organic frameworks, such as MIL-100, have been recently introduced as promising drug carriers due to their notable characteristics such as stability, biocompatibility and owning large porosity which may admit a broad range of drugs with different molecular sizes. In this study, we firstly proposed an accessible top-down approach using ultrasound method to prepare nanoMIL-100 and secondly, evaluated its potentials as an anticancer nanocarrier. This is the first report that docetaxel (DTX) as a highly hydrophobic anticancer drug was encapsulated in nanoMIL-100 with the drug payload of 57.2 wt%. Characterizations of the prepared nanoMIL-100 and DTX-loaded nanoMIL-100 were performed by PXRD, FT-IR, N₂ adsorption, DLS and FE-SEM. Moreover, the drug loading and release processes were quantified by HPLC. The in vitro release of DTX from the prepared nanocarrier was investigated in two pH values, 7.4 and 5.5. The toxic effect of DTX-loaded nanoMIL-100 was examined on human breast cancer cell line, MCF-7, and a significant decrease was observed in IC₅₀ value (0.198 μg/mL) at the first 24 h in comparison with the free drug (4.9908 μg/mL). This nanocarrier may, thus offer promising potentials as a novel cytotoxic drug delivery system. Graphical Abstract