Fully Zwitterionic Nanoparticle Antimicrobial Agents through Tuning of Core Size and Ligand Structure.
Zwitterionic nanoparticles are generally considered nontoxic and noninteracting. Here, we report effective and selective antimicrobial activity of zwitterionic gold nanoparticles (AuNP) through modulation NP size and surface charge orientation. Using a set of 2, 4, and 6 nm core AuNPs, increasing particle size increased antimicrobial efficiency through bacterial membrane disruption. Further improvement was observed through control of the ligand structure, generating antimicrobial particles with low hemolytic activity and demonstrating the importance of size and surface structure in dictating the bioactivity properties of nanomaterials.
Department of Chemistry, University of Massachusetts-Amherst , 710 North Pleasant Street, Amherst, Massachusetts 01003, United States.|Laboratory of Controllable Nanopharmaceuticals, Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) Center for Excellence in Nanoscience; and CAS Key Laboratory for Biomedical Effects of Nanomaterials and Nanosafety, National Center for Nanoscience and Technology , First North Road, Zhongguancun, Beijing 100190, P. R. China.|University of Chinese Academy of Sciences , Beijing 100049, P. R. China.
Shuaidong
S
Huo
Department of Chemistry, University of Massachusetts-Amherst , 710 North Pleasant Street, Amherst, Massachusetts 01003, United States.
Ying
Y
Jiang
Department of Chemistry, University of Massachusetts-Amherst , 710 North Pleasant Street, Amherst, Massachusetts 01003, United States.
Akash
A
Gupta
Department of Chemistry, University of Massachusetts-Amherst , 710 North Pleasant Street, Amherst, Massachusetts 01003, United States.
Ziwen
Z
Jiang
Department of Chemistry, University of Massachusetts-Amherst , 710 North Pleasant Street, Amherst, Massachusetts 01003, United States.
Ryan F
RF
Landis
Department of Chemistry, University of Massachusetts-Amherst , 710 North Pleasant Street, Amherst, Massachusetts 01003, United States.
Singyuk
S
Hou
Laboratory of Controllable Nanopharmaceuticals, Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) Center for Excellence in Nanoscience; and CAS Key Laboratory for Biomedical Effects of Nanomaterials and Nanosafety, National Center for Nanoscience and Technology , First North Road, Zhongguancun, Beijing 100190, P. R. China.|University of Chinese Academy of Sciences , Beijing 100049, P. R. China.
Xing-Jie
XJ
Liang
Department of Chemistry, University of Massachusetts-Amherst , 710 North Pleasant Street, Amherst, Massachusetts 01003, United States.
Vincent M
VM
Rotello
D000890:Anti-Infective Agents / Q000737:chemistry*; D006046:Gold; D008024:Ligands; D053768:Metal Nanoparticles / Q000737:chemistry*; D010316:Particle Size
D000890:Anti-Infective Agents; D008024:Ligands; D006046:Gold
antimicrobial activity; charge orientation; size; zwitterionic gold nanoparticles