Development of New Polymeric Antibacterial Materials

Project Summary

For most of the past century, positively charged quaternary alkyl ammonium salts have been used as antibacterial agents. Their mechanism of action involves initial attraction and adsorption onto the negatively charged bacterial cell membrane through electrostatic interactions. The alkyl substituents then enter the cell membrane thereby weakening and disrupting it through hydrophobic interactions. In this way, the membrane selectivity for permeation is lost thus allowing the cationic salts to enter the cell. A net result of the compromised cell wall is the leaking of cytoplasmic constituents and cell death. However, extensive use of the quaternary ammonium salts has led bacteria to develop resistance against such materials. Therefore, the identification of new cationic moieties for antibacterial purposes is a high-priority area of research. World Health Organization (WHO) has recognized that antibiotic resistance is one of the biggest threats to global health today. Thus, in this project, we strive to develop novel non-ammonium antibacterial materials.

Project Objectives

1) Synthesis and characterization of a new family of polymeric antibacterial materials

2) Study of their toxicity (hemolytic) properties against mammalian red blood cells

3) Study of their antibacterial properties against E. coli, S. aureus, and M. Smegmatis

4) Study of their antibacterial machanism through membrane permeabilization assays

Results