The surging rate of antimicrobial resistance remains a major threat to global health, mainly caused by the systemic over-exposure to antibiotics through the frequent oral administration drugs. Various delivery systems have been explored for provision of sustained and controlled release of drugs unto targeted sites. Metal organic frameworks (MOFs) emerge as an ideal due to its properties. Polymers have also been investigated for drug delivery, however limited research regarding combination of MOFs and polymers (Bio-PolyMOFs) for sustained release substantiates this study, reporting a comparative analysis involving the release of loaded cephalexin and metronidazole from three Zn-based MOFs; MOF-5, ZIF-8, Zn-BTC incorporated into PCL and PLGA. The drugs were incorporated into the MOFs post-synthetically and loaded into PCL and PLGA via solvent-casted and extrusion methodologies. Characterization techniques including PXRD, SEM, EDS, FTIR, and TGA were used in investigating the properties of the MOFs and composites. UV-Visible spectroscopy was used to analyze the concentrations of drugs released using PBS medium for 7 days. The antimicrobial properties of the pristine MOFs and loaded composites were assessed by testing against four bacterial strains: Staphylococcus epidermidis, Staphylococcus aureus, Escherichia coli, Acinetobacter baumannii. This study showed a more controlled drug release from Bio-PolyMOFs relative to releases from the MOF alone, with the extruded, EXT-PCL@met@MOF-5 and SOL-PCL@met@MOF-5, demonstrating the most sustained and controlled drug release rate in concentrations above the MICs of the respective bacterial strains across the period of study, hence a relevant area to be explored further for the reduction of antimicrobial resistance.

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