title: Antibacterial Activity, in Vitro Cytotoxicity, and Cell Cycle Arrest of Gemini Quaternary Ammonium Surfactants.
abstract: Twelve gemini quaternary ammonium surfactants have been employed to evaluate the antibacterial activity and in vitro cytotoxicity. The antibacterial effects of the gemini surfactants are performed on Escherichia coli (E. coli) and Staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus) with minimum inhibitory concentrations (MIC) ranging from 2.8 to 167.7 μM. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) analysis results show that these surfactants interact with the bacterial cell membrane, disrupt the integrity of the membrane, and consequently kill the bacteria. The data recorded on C6 glioma and HEK293 human kidney cell lines using an MTT assay exhibit low half inhibitory concentrations (IC50). The influences of the gemini surfactants on the cell morphology, the cell migration ability, and the cell cycle are observed through hematoxylin-eosin (HE) staining, cell wound healing assay, and flow cytometric analyses, respectively. Both the values of MIC and IC50 decrease against the growth of the alkyl chain length of the gemini surfactants with the same spacer group. In the case of surfactants 12-s-12, the MICs and IC50s are found to decrease slightly with the spacer chain length changing from 2 to 8 and again to increase at higher spacer length (s = 10-12). All of the gemini surfactants show great antibacterial activity and cytotoxicity, and they might exhibit potential applications in medical fields.
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemistry, Zhejiang University , Hangzhou 310027, China.
authors.forename: Shanshan
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.affiliation: School of Medicine, Zhejiang University , Hangzhou 310058, China.
authors.forename: Shiping
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Ding
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemistry, Zhejiang University , Hangzhou 310027, China.
authors.forename: Jing
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Yu
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemistry, Zhejiang University , Hangzhou 310027, China.
authors.forename: Xuerui
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemistry, Zhejiang University , Hangzhou 310027, China.
authors.forename: Qunfang
authors.initials: Q
authors.lastname: Lei
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemistry, Zhejiang University , Hangzhou 310027, China.
authors.forename: Wenjun
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Fang
mesh_terms: D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents / Q000494:pharmacology*; D002453:Cell Cycle / Q000187:drug effects*; D002460:Cell Line; D004354:Drug Screening Assays, Antitumor; D004926:Escherichia coli / Q000187:drug effects; D006801:Humans; D008826:Microbial Sensitivity Tests; D008855:Microscopy, Electron, Scanning; D000644:Quaternary Ammonium Compounds / Q000494:pharmacology*; D013211:Staphylococcus aureus / Q000187:drug effects; D013501:Surface-Active Agents / Q000494:pharmacology*
chemical_list: D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents; D000644:Quaternary Ammonium Compounds; D013501:Surface-Active Agents