Multivalent Antimicrobial Polymer Nanoparticles Target Mycobacteria and Gram-Negative Bacteria by Distinct Mechanisms.

ABSTRACT: Because of the emergence of antimicrobial resistance to traditional small-molecule drugs, cationic antimicrobial polymers are appealing targets. Mycobacterium tuberculosis is a particular problem, with multi- and total drug resistance spreading and more than a billion latent infections globally. This study reports nanoparticles bearing variable densities of poly(dimethylaminoethyl methacrylate) and the unexpected and distinct mechanisms of action this multivalent presentation imparts against Escherichia coli versus Mycobacterium smegmatis (model of M. tuberculosis), leading to killing or growth inhibition, respectively. A convergent "grafting to" synthetic strategy was used to assemble a 50-member nanoparticle library, and using a high-throughput screen identified that only the smallest (2

SUBMITTER: Richards SJ 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5761047 | biostudies-literature | 2018 Jan

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature