Malays. J. Anal. Sci. Volume 29 Number 3 (2025): 1304

 

Research Article

 

Design and evaluation of zinc-aluminium layered double hydroxide-palmitic acid nanocomposites: synthesis, characterization and antimicrobial properties

 

Alsya Haneeza Mohd Shah1,2, Sheikh Ahmad Izaddin Sheikh Ghazali1*, Nurul Elysha Md Norizan1, Nursyafiqah Jori Roslan1, Nur Nadia Dzulkifli1, Hamizah Mohd Zaki3, Sandeep Poddar4, Hari Shankar Biswas5, Is Fatimah6, and Vadym Kovalenko7

 

1Material, Inorganic and Oleochemistry (MaterInoleo) Research Group, School of Chemistry and Environment, Faculty of Applied Sciences, Universiti Teknologi MARA (UiTM), 72000 Kuala Pilah, Negeri sembilan, Malaysia

2 Department of Chemistry Malaysia, Jalan Sultan, 46661 Petaling Jaya, Selangor, Malaysia

3Faculty of Applied Sciences, Universiti Teknologi MARA, 40450, Shah Alam, Selangor, Malaysia

4Lincoln University, Research and Innovation Division, WismaLincoln, 12-18, Jalan SS 6/12 Petaling Jaya, Selangor, 47301, Malaysia

5Department of Chemistry,Surrendranath College, 24/2, M.G. Road, Kolkata-09, India

6Department of Chemistry, Faculty of Mathematics and Natural Sciences, Universitas Islam Indonesia, Kampus Terpadu UII, Yogyakarta 55584, Indonesia

7Department of Analytical Chemistry and Chemical Technologies of Food Additives and Cosmetics, Faculty of Chemical Technologies and Ecology, Ukrainian State University of Chemical Technology, Dnipro 749005, Ukraine

*Corresponding author: sheikhahmadizaddin@uitm.edu.my

 

Received: 18 September 2024; Revised: 19 March 2025; Accepted: 27 March 2025; Published: 1 June 2025

 

Abstract

An efficient drug delivery system lies in its bioavailability to improve therapeutic effects. Incomplete administration of drugs may lead to reduced drug efficacy, requiring patients to take higher doses or take the drugs more frequently. Therefore, this study aims to synthesize a nanocomposite that utilizes the layered double hydroxide as a carrier and improves its bioavailability. Zinc-aluminium layered double hydroxide (ZnAl-LDH) was synthesized using the co-precipitation method, and palmitic acid (PA) was intercalated into this carrier by anion exchange technique, resulting in a layered double hydroxide-palmitic acid (LDH-PA) nanocomposite. The successful intercalation process is confirmed by powder x-ray diffraction (PXRD) analysis, with an increased interlayer spacing from 8.6 to 14.5 due to including a larger anion in the interlayer. The absence of a nitrate peak at 1396 cm−1 and the presence of a newly formed COO- peak at 1596 cm−1 in fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy analysis also confirmed the presence of PA in the host layer. Energy dispersive x-ray (EDX) analysis showed that no nitrogen element could be detected in the nanocomposite. Instead, carbon dominated the distribution of the sample by 71.90%. The Brunauer, Emmett, and Teller (BET) surface area increased from 4.82 m /g for the ZnAl-LDH host layer to 21.35 m /g for LDH-PA, indicating that the nesting process had occurred. Antimicrobial activity tests showed that the synthesized nanocomposite could retain activity against Escherichia coli and Klebsiella pneumoniae, highlighting the potential of ZnAl-LDH as a vehicle for enhanced drug delivery systems. By uncovering its synthesis, characterization, and potential applications, this research contributes valuable insights to the pharmaceutical industry. Further exploration of its applications and optimization strategies holds promise for addressing current challenges in drug delivery and infectious disease management.

 

Keywords: drug delivery system, anion exchange technique, Escherichia coli

 

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