Informed Molecular Design of Conjugated Oligoelectrolytes To Increase Cell Affinity and Antimicrobial Activity.
Membrane-intercalating conjugated oligoelectrolytes (COEs) are emerging as potential alternatives to conventional, yet increasingly ineffective, antibiotics. Three readily accessible COEs, belonging to an unreported series containing a stilbene core, namely D4, D6, and D8, were designed and synthesized so that the hydrophobicity increases with increasing side-chain length. Decreased aqueous solubility correlates with increased uptake by E. coli. The minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) of D8 is 4 μg mL-1 against both E. coli and E. faecalis, with an effective uptake of 72 %. In contrast, the MIC value of the shortest COE, D4, is 128 μg mL-1 owing to the low cellular uptake of 3 %. These findings demonstrate the application of rational design to generate efficacious antimicrobial COEs that have potential as low-cost antimicrobial agents.
['Zhou|Cheng|C|', 'Chia|Geraldine W N|GWN|', 'Ho|James C S|JCS|', 'Seviour|Thomas|T|', 'Sailov|Talgat|T|', 'Liedberg|Bo|B|', 'Kjelleberg|Staffan|S|', 'Hinks|Jamie|J|', 'Bazan|Guillermo C|GC|0000-0002-2537-0310']
D000890:Anti-Infective Agents D002152:Calorimetry, Differential Scanning D015195:Drug Design D013293:Enterococcus faecalis D004926:Escherichia coli D008051:Lipid Bilayers D008826:Microbial Sensitivity Tests D000071228:Polyelectrolytes D013267:Stilbenes
conjugated oligoelectrolytes cell affinity antimicrobial activity membrane disruption