Impact of Mesoporous Silica Functionalization Fine-Tuning on Antibiotic Uptake/Delivery and Bactericidal Activity

The mesoporous SBA-15 material was surface-functionalized with amino and carboxylic acid groups and used as a platform to investigate the interaction of these chemical groups with tetracycline, kanamycin, and ampicillin antibiotics. The interactions between the antibiotic and the functionalized surfaces were characterized using two-dimensional 1H-13C HETCOR CP MAS and FTIR spectroscopy and indicated that -COO-NH3+ bondings had been formed between chemical groups on the silica surface and drug molecules. The surface modification resulted in higher kanamycin and ampicillin loadings and a slow-release rate, and all synthesized systems showed antibacterial activity against susceptible Escherichia coli bacteria. Almost total death of bacteria was obtained using a few ppm of tetracycline-and kanamycin-loaded systems, whereas the ampicillin-loaded one showed lower bactericidal activity than free ampicillin.

Automated summary

The mesoporous SBA-15 material was functionalized with amino and carboxylic acid groups and used to study their interaction with tetracycline, kanamycin, and ampicillin antibiotics. The study employed two-dimensional 1H-13C HETCOR CP MAS and FTIR spectroscopy to characterize the interactions between the antibiotics and the functionalized surfaces, revealing the formation of -COO-NH3+ bonds between the chemical groups on the silica surface and the drug molecules. Surface modification resulted in higher drug loadings and slow-release rates, and all synthesized systems exhibited antibacterial activity against susceptible Escherichia coli.