A major challenge in the field of infectious diseases is to develop novel biomaterials and antimicrobial agents that can kill a broad spectrum of bacteria especially superbugs, but present low toxicity to mammalian cells. Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA), a complex of beta-lactam antibiotic resistant Gram-positive bacterial strains, has proven especially problematic in both hospital and community-settings, resulting in increased mortality rates and hospitalization costs. Our research is focused on integrating central functional building blocks as active components into novel antimicrobial agents for biomedical applications.  I will present two stories on how to design and prepare antimicrobial agents that utilize both natural and synthetic moieties containing cycloaliphatic and/or aromatic structures coupled with cationic charges. Both systems exhibit high efficacy against MRSA, underlining both conventional killing mechanisms and un-expected inhibition pathways.

Conceptualizing novel macromolecular architectures toward robust antimicrobial agents

247th National Meeting (2014)

The official archive and repository for all ACS Meetings & Expositions abstracts and select posters or presentations.