Covalent Graft of Lipopeptides and Peptide Dendrimers to Cellulose Fibers

Abstract

Introduction: Bacterial proliferation in health environments may lead to the development of specific pathologies, but can be highly dangerous under particular conditions, such as during chemotherapy. To limit the spread of infections, it is helpful to use gauzes and clothing containing antibacterial agents. As cotton tissues are widespread in health care environments, in this contribution we report the preparation of cellulose fibers characterized by the covalent attachment of lipopeptides as possible antimicrobial agents. Aim: To covalently link peptides to cotton samples and characterize them. Peptides are expected to preserve the features of the fabrics even after repeated washing and use. Peptides are well tolerated by the human body and do not induce resistance in bacteria. Materials and Methods: A commercially available cotton tissue (specific weight of 150 g/m2, 30 Tex yarn fineness, fabric density of 270/230 threads/10 cm in the warp and weft) was washed with alkali and bleached and died. A piece of this tissue was accurately weighed, washed with methanol (MeOH) and N,N-dimethylformamide (DMF), and air-dried. Upon incubation with epibromohydrin, followed by treatment with Fmoc-NH-CH2CH2-NH2 and Fmoc removal, the peptides were synthesized by incorporating one amino acid at a time, beginning with the formation of an amide bond with the free NH2 of 1,2–diaminoethane. We also linked to the fibers a few peptide dendrimers, because the mechanism of action of these peptides often requires the formation of clusters. We prepared and characterized seven peptide-cotton samples. Results: The new peptide-cotton conjugates were characterized by means of FT-IR spectroscopy and X-ray Photoelectron Spectroscopy (XPS). This latter technique allows for discriminating among different amino acids and thus different peptide-cotton samples. Some samples maintain a pretty good whiteness degree even after peptide functionalization. Interestingly, these samples also display encouraging activities against a Gram positive strain. Conclusions: Potentially antimicrobial lipopeptides can be covalently linked to cotton fabrics, step-by-step. It is also possible to build on the cotton Lys-based dendrimers. XPS is a useful technique to discriminate among different types of nitrogen. Two samples displaying some antibacterial potency did also preserve their whiteness index.

Active antibacterial coating of cotton fabrics with antimicrobial proteins

“…Thus, possible cytotoxicity of the immobilized antibacterial proteins will be examined following further optimization of the immobilization chemistry. Such optimization may involve the use of other chemistries (Yi et al 2020), including other acids such as phthalic acid (Dos Santos et al 2018), lauric acid and malic acid to replace or react with the hydroxyl groups of cellulose, combining superhydrophobicity or antiadhesive capacity (Lin et al 2018;Xu et al 2020) with immobilization of antimicrobial proteins and forming antimicrobial protein/peptide clusters (Orlandin et al 2019).…”

Polymer Materials for Respiratory Protection: Processing, End Use, and Testing Methods

“…Orlandin et al recently explored innovative strategies to covalently link AMPs to a cotton material with defined texture. Peptides are biodegradable, and they have the advantage with respect to other molecules in that they are constitutes of amino acids …”

Multifunctional Hydroxyapatite/Silver Nanoparticles/Cotton Gauze for Antimicrobial and Biomedical Applications

“…Medical textiles used in wound healing, band-aids, sutures, and sanitary towels must be made of biocompatible materials with excellent resistance to microorganisms, sufficient hydrophilicity, and high air permeability [ 2 , 3 ]. Many researchers have been trying to develop textile materials that can block microbial growth [ 4 ], using three main approaches: (i) addition of antimicrobial compounds in the textile fibers [ 5 ]; (ii) grafting of antimicrobial compounds on the fiber surface [ 6 ]; and (iii) coating of the fiber surface with antimicrobial metal and metal oxide nanoparticles (NP) [ 7 , 8 , 9 ]. Different antimicrobial compounds have been investigated, for instance, quaternary ammonium compounds [ 10 ], triclosan [ 11 ], metal salts [ 9 ], polybiguanides [ 12 ], and even natural polymers, such as chitosan [ 13 ].…”