UiO-66-NH2 as an effective solid support for quinazoline derivatives for antibacterial agents against Gram-negative bacteria

Abstract

Nanomaterials have been widely used as a class of antibacterial drugs. However, the bottlenecks of this class of materials are their significant aggregation and accumulation, as well as toxicity resulting from excessive metal leaching. Metal–organic frameworks (MOFs) have inspired researchers owing to their distinct characteristics of robust architecture and tunable pore structures, which may help overcome the above challenges. We, herein, synthesize UiO-66-NH₂ and use it as a solid support for loading quinazoline derivatives that are specifically designed and active against Gram-negative bacteria. The quinazoline derivatives were adsorbed on UiO-66-NH₂ nanoparticles to form new UiO-66-NH₂-quinazoline formulations which have a large inhibitory zone against Gram-negative bacteria, compared to that of free quinazoline compounds. This work has the potential for increasing antibacterial activity while also broadening the antibacterial range, and thus opens a pathway for new medical applications using MOFs.