The antibiotic resistance poses a serious threat to our society. Therefore, the development of new antimicrobial compounds is urgently needed. High-throughput compositional analysis, combined with recent advances in polymerization protocols, allows for rapid production of potentially antimicrobial compounds without the need of specific equipment, affording the production of large library of polymers. These libraries of polymers were tested against various microorganisms. We have been able to correlate their bioactivity with composition and functionality. In this study, we have used PET-RAFT polymerization to test the combinations of seven different monomers to yield 200 different antimicrobial polymers. Their bioactivity were investigated against three distinct bacterial species; Gram-negative Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Gram-positive Staphylococcus aureus, and Mycobacterium smegmatis. Through variations in composition, we have demonstrated the potential of high-throughput PET-RAFT for highly reproducible products, as well as simultaneously testing multiple variables. Results indicate that primary amines provide the best results against Gram-negative P. aeruginosa, while quaternized ammonium provides activity verse M. smegmatis. Copolymers of these provide avenues for further optimization, especially in the case of quaternized ammonium functionalities.

Synthesis of antimicrobial polymers: Effect of polymer composition and architecture

2019 Fall National Meeting

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