Bacterial infections caused by multidrug resistance pathogens are predicted to cause more than 10 million deaths by 2050. More than 65% percent of human infections are caused by biofilms, which are polymicrobial communities protected by an extracellular matrix. In particular, biofilm infections in chronic wounds and biofilms in lung infections of cystic fibrosis patients are a huge problem in clinics. Discovery of new antibiotic drugs is of imminent global necessity. Antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) have shown promising antimicrobial activity against a broad range of pathogens. However, only a few have reached clinical trials due their cytotoxicity and highly cost production. Herein, we synthesised a library of cationic acrylamide copolymers via RAFT polymerization to mimic AMPs and to overcome their limitations. We studied the antimicrobial and antibiofilm activity of the polymers in an in vitro wound collagen model against S. aureus MRSA to mimic a wound infection environment. The polymers show a promising activity as antibiofilm agents and they can also disrupt mature biofilms as reveal by CFU counts, confocal microscopy and scanning electron microscopy). The polymeric materials show a promising synergetic activity with antibiotics used in clinics. The synergy effect was evaluated in vitro by using checkboard assays and in an ex vivo porcine skin infection model.

Cationic antimicrobial polymers: Against biofilm infection in an in vitro collagen model and in an ex vivo porcine skin model

ACS Spring 2022

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