Unexpected Enhancement of Antimicrobial Polymer Activity against Staphylococcus aureus in the Presence of Fetal Bovine Serum

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Authors

SOVADINOVÁ Iva KURODA Kenichi PALERMO Edmund F.

Year of publication 2021
Type Article in Periodical
Magazine / Source Molecules
MU Faculty or unit

Faculty of Science

Citation
Web https://www.mdpi.com/1420-3049/26/15/4512
Doi http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/molecules26154512
Keywords antimicrobial; polymer; S; aureus; serum
Attached files
Description Cationic and amphiphilic polymers are known to exert broad-spectrum antibacterial activity by a putative mechanism of membrane disruption. Typically, nonspecific binding to hydrophobic components of the complex biological milieu, such as globular proteins, is considered a deterrent to the successful application of such polymers. To evaluate the extent to which serum deactivates antibacterial polymethacrylates, we compared their minimum inhibitory concentrations in the presence and absence of fetal bovine serum. Surprisingly, we discovered that the addition of fetal bovine serum (FBS) to the assay media in fact enhances the antimicrobial activity of polymers against Gram-positive bacteria S. aureus, whereas the opposite is the case for Gram-negative E. coli. Here, we present these unexpected trends and develop a hypothesis to potentially explain this unusual phenomenon.
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