Intercalation of hydrophilic and hydrophobic antibiotics in layered double hydroxides

Four pharmaceutically active molecules, each representing a different class of antibiotic, were intercalated in layered double hydroxides. Two of them, gramicidin and amphotericin B, are hydrophobic, surface active drugs that were incorporated in artificial membranes formed in the interlayer of the inorganic host. The other two, ampicillin and nalidixic acid, are water soluble, commonly used antibiotics that were directly intercalated by using simple ion exchange reactions. The synthetic nanohybrid materials were characterized by various methods, as X-ray diffraction, infrared spectroscopy and ultraviolet–visible spectroscopy that verified the successful intercalation of the antibiotics and provided information regarding the interlayer structure of the nanohybrids. The reversible interaction of the antibiotic molecules with the inorganic host leads to release of the active drugs under the appropriate conditions. The release studies showed that the synthetic nanohybrids can successfully serve as controlled release systems for different kinds of antibiotics.