Polymers as advanced antibacterial and antibiofilm agents for direct and combination therapies

Abstract

This review surveys the structure–activity of advanced antimicrobial cationic polymers with low toxicity and high selectivity. Their uses as potentiating adjuvants and as antibiofilm agents are also covered.

Facile Preparation of Polysaccharide−Polypeptide Conjugates via a Biphasic Solution Ring-Opening Polymerization

“…Additionally, the natural proteoglycans extractives from Coriolus versicolor , which exhibited satisfactory cancer therapeutic targeting and efficacy, are made from polysaccharides covalently bonded to polypeptides through O - or N -glycosidic linkages . Much bioinspired effort has been focused on the design and synthesis of polysaccharide–polypeptide conjugates, aiming to not only mimic the nanoscale assembly of natural polysaccharides and proteins, , but more importantly, achieve enhanced properties toward biomedical applications. − Generally, polysaccharide–polypeptide conjugates can be prepared by the ring-opening polymerization (ROP) of N -carboxyanhydride (NCA) monomers in organic solvents (e.g., DMF and DMAc) using modified polysaccharides as the initiators. , In this method, tedious protection and deprotection of hydroxyl groups of chitosan are required to improve their solubility in organic solvent. While the polysaccharide–polypeptide conjugates have also been prepared by side-chain or end-group modification of polysaccharides with the functionalized polypeptides, ,, the conjugation reaction is time-consuming and may involve efficiency/purification issues.…”

Elucidating the role of multivalency, shape, size and functional group density on antibacterial activity of diversified supramolecular nanostructures enabled by templated assembly

“…2 The continuous emergence of new antimicrobial resistant strains 3 of theses microorganisms against traditional antibiotics has led scientists to investigate new antibacterial therapies. Self-assembled cationic nanostructures including cationic peptides, [4][5][6] small molecule surfactants [7][8][9] and polymers [10][11][12] have become the most appealing materials for demonstrating improved antimicrobial activity. The cationic head groups present on the surface of these self-assembled materials electrostatically bind to the negatively charged phospholipids present on the bacterial membrane, followed by insertion of the hydrophobic moiety initiating pore formation and subsequent disruption of the bacterial membrane eventually killing the microorganism.…”

Atomic-Resolution Structures and Mode of Action of Clinically Relevant Antimicrobial Peptides

“…Emergence of bacterial resistance to AMPs has been found to be limited presumably due to unfavorable evolutionary pressure to change membrane compositions [46,47]. AMP-derived analogs, AMP-conjugated polymers, and AMP nanoparticles are among the robust candidates as therapeutics against drug-resistant bacteria [48][49][50].…”