title: Antibacterial hydrogels of amino acid-based cationic amphiphiles.
abstract: Development of biomaterials, which are inherently antibacterial having broad-spectrum activity against both Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria with considerable biocompatibility, is of tremendous importance in biomedicinal chemistry. Microbial infections are still of great concern, often originated from indwelling medical devices typically in hospitalized patients. To this end, hydrogelating soft materials particularly from low-molecular-weight (LMW) gelators have generated significant interest in preparing and modifying biomedicinal implants. Herein, we have developed L-tryptophan based cationic amphiphilic hydrogelators with varying degree of hydrophobicity that exhibited remarkable bactericidal activity against wide range of Gram-positive (MIC = 0.1-75 microg/mL) and Gram-negative bacteria (MIC = 0.5-5 microg/mL). Antimicrobial efficacy of the amphiphiles was greatly influenced by their alkyl chain length. This bactericidal effect of cationic hydrogelators is quite comparable or in some cases markedly better than that of clinically available antibiotics. Most excitingly, they selectively attack the bacterial pathogens while remain biocompatible to the mammalian cells. Thus, we have developed LMW biocompatible, inherently antibacterial hydrogels having potential applications in biomedicines.
authors.affiliation: Department of Biological Chemistry, Indian Association for the Cultivation of Science, Jadavpur, Kolkata 700 032, India.
authors.forename: Sangita
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Roy
authors.forename: Prasanta Kumar
authors.initials: PK
authors.lastname: Das
mesh_terms: D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents / Q000138:chemical synthesis / Q000494:pharmacology; D023181:Antimicrobial Cationic Peptides / Q000138:chemical synthesis* / Q000494:pharmacology*; D001672:Biocompatible Materials / Q000138:chemical synthesis / Q000494:pharmacology; D001709:Biotechnology / Q000379:methods; D004912:Erythrocytes / Q000187:drug effects; D005260:Female; D006090:Gram-Negative Bacteria / Q000187:drug effects; D006094:Gram-Positive Bacteria / Q000187:drug effects; D006367:HeLa Cells; D006461:Hemolysis / Q000187:drug effects; D006801:Humans; D020100:Hydrogels / Q000138:chemical synthesis* / Q000494:pharmacology*; D057927:Hydrophobic and Hydrophilic Interactions; D008826:Microbial Sensitivity Tests; D008970:Molecular Weight; D014364:Tryptophan / Q000737:chemistry*
chemical_list: D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents; D023181:Antimicrobial Cationic Peptides; D001672:Biocompatible Materials; D020100:Hydrogels; D014364:Tryptophan