A solid state NMR study of Layered double hydroxides intercalated with para-amino salicylate, a tuberculosis drug

Para-amino salicylate (PAS), a tubercolosis drug, was intercalated in three different layered double hydroxides (MgAl, ZnAl, and CaAl-LDH) and the samples were studied by multi-nuclear (1H, 13C, and 27Al) solid state NMR (SSNMR) spectroscopy in combination with powder X-ray diffraction (PXRD), elemental analysis and IR-spectroscopy to gain insight into the bulk and atomic level structure of these LDHs especially with a view to the purity of the LDH-PAS materials and the concentration of impurities. The intercalations of PAS in MgAl-, ZnAl-, and CaAl-LDH's were confirmed by 13C SSNMR and PXRD. Moreover, 13C MAS NMR and infra-red spectroscopy show that PAS did not decompose during synthesis. Large amounts (20-41%) of amorphous aluminum impurities were detected in the structure using 27Al single pulse and 3QMAS NMR spectra, which in combination with 1H single and double quantum experiments also showed that the M(II):Al ratio was higher than predicted from the bulk metal composition of MgAl-PAS and ZnAl-PAS. Moreover, the first high-resolution 1H SSNMR spectra of a CaAl LDH is reported and assigned using 1H single and double quantum experiments in combination with 27Al{1H} HETCOR.