Synthesis, characterisation and sustained release properties of layered zinc hydroxide intercalated with amoxicillin trihydrate

The intercalation of amoxicillin trihydrate (AMOX) into layered zinc hydroxide (LZH) has been achieved via ion-exchange method. The resulted nanocomposite (AMOX-LZH) has been thoroughly characterised by a number of techniques including powder X-ray diffraction (PXRD), FT-IR spectroscopy, TGA/DTG analysis and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The PXRD results showed that the gallery height of LZH was expanded from 9.57 to 11.97 Å, indicating that the AMOX anions were successfully intercalated into the interlayer space of LZHs. The increased thermal stability of nanocomposite was confirmed by TGA/DTG analyses. Improved antibacterial activity and minimum inhibitory concentration of AMOX-LZH nanocomposite was evaluated against Gram-positive bacteria Staphylococcus aureus, Klebsiella pneumonia and Gram- negative Escherichia coli using the disk diffusion technique. The sustained release of amoxicillin drug from the AMOX-LZH nanocomposite was also verified.