title: Molecular design, structures, and activity of antimicrobial peptide-mimetic polymers.
abstract: There is an urgent need for new antibiotics which are effective against drug-resistant bacteria without contributing to resistance development. We have designed and developed antimicrobial copolymers with cationic amphiphilic structures based on the mimicry of naturally occurring antimicrobial peptides. These copolymers exhibit potent antimicrobial activity against a broad spectrum of bacteria including methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus with no adverse hemolytic activity. Notably, these polymers also did not result in any measurable resistance development in E. coli. The peptide-mimetic design principle offers significant flexibility and diversity in the creation of new antimicrobial materials and their potential biomedical applications.
authors.affiliation: Department of Biologic and Materials Sciences, School of Dentistry, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan, USA; Department of Polymer Chemistry, Graduate School of Engineering, Kyoto University, Kyoto, Japan.
authors.forename: Haruko
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Takahashi
authors.forename: Edmund F
authors.initials: EF
authors.lastname: Palermo
authors.forename: Kazuma
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Yasuhara
authors.forename: Gregory A
authors.initials: GA
authors.lastname: Caputo
authors.forename: Kenichi
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Kuroda
mesh_terms: D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents / Q000737:chemistry; D000890:Anti-Infective Agents / Q000138:chemical synthesis / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000627:therapeutic use; D023181:Antimicrobial Cationic Peptides / Q000138:chemical synthesis / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000627:therapeutic use; D032701:Biomimetics; D004926:Escherichia coli / Q000187:drug effects; D006801:Humans; D055624:Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus aureus / Q000187:drug effects / Q000472:pathogenicity; D008826:Microbial Sensitivity Tests; D011108:Polymers / Q000138:chemical synthesis / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000627:therapeutic use; D013329:Structure-Activity Relationship
chemical_list: D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents; D000890:Anti-Infective Agents; D023181:Antimicrobial Cationic Peptides; D011108:Polymers
keywords: antimicrobial materials; biomimetics; copolymers; peptides; structure-property relations