Antibacterial and Hemolytic Activity of Antimicrobial Hydrogels Utilizing Immobilized Antimicrobial Peptides
Journal article, 2024

Antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) are viewed as potential compounds for the treatment of bacterial infections. Nevertheless, the successful translation of AMPs into clinical applications has been impeded primarily due to their low stability in biological environments and potential toxicological concerns at higher concentrations. The covalent attachment of AMPs to a material's surface has been sought to improve their stability. However, it is still an open question what is required to best perform such an attachment and the role of the support. In this work, six different AMPs were covalently attached to a long-ranged ordered amphiphilic hydrogel, with their antibacterial efficacy evaluated and compared to their performance when free in solution. Among the tested AMPs were four different versions of synthetic end-tagged AMPs where the sequence was altered to change the cationic residue as well as to vary the degree of hydrophobicity. Two previously well-studied AMPs, Piscidin 1 and Omiganan, were also included as comparisons. The antibacterial efficacy against Staphylococcus aureus remained largely consistent between free AMPs and those attached to surfaces. However, the activity pattern against Pseudomonas aeruginosa on hydrogel surfaces displayed a marked contrast to that observed in the solution. Additionally, all the AMPs showed varying degrees of hemolytic activity when in solution. This activity was entirely diminished, and all the AMPs were non-hemolytic when attached to the hydrogels.

hydrogels

surface attachment

antimicrobial peptides

antibacterial functionalization

biomaterials

Author

Edvin Blomstrand

Chalmers, Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Applied Chemistry

Elin Posch

Chalmers, Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Applied Chemistry

Annija Stepulane

Chalmers, Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Applied Chemistry

Anand K. Rajasekharan

Amferia

Martin Andersson

Chalmers, Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Applied Chemistry

INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF MOLECULAR SCIENCES

1661-6596 (ISSN) 1422-0067 (eISSN)

Vol. 25 8 4200

Subject Categories

Pharmaceutical Sciences

Infectious Medicine

Microbiology

Medical Materials

Areas of Advance

Materials Science

DOI

10.3390/ijms25084200

PubMed

38673786

More information

Latest update

5/24/2024