SYNTHESIS AND STUDY OF POLYCATIONIC AMPHIPHILES AS POTENT ANTISEPTICS AND NOVEL COLLOIDS: EXPLORING STRUCTURE ACTIVITY RELATIONSHIPS

With the growing amount of bacterial resistance to current antibiotics, several series of novel amphiphilic molecules have been designed and synthesized in an effort to develop novel and efficient antiseptics in which bacterial resistance is limited. Each of the new series includes amphiphiles with non-conventional structures; molecular architectures include compounds with multiple hydrophilic head groups and one or two hydrophobic tails. From these series of amphiphiles we were able to develop a relationship between structure and antibacterial and colloidal activity including the effect of the cationic head group, number of tails, and the length of the tails on both colloidal and antibacterial properties. These amphiphiles are hypothesized to interact with and disrupt the bacterial membrane, ultimately resulting in bacterial death. Based on this hypothesis current research includes the preparation and study of amphiphiles with a hexasubstituted hydrophilic head group. This new, bulkier head group is hypothesized to more efficiently disrupt the bacterial membrane while also influencing colloidal properties. The synthesis, purification, and preliminary analyses, both colloidal and antibacterial, of these amphiphiles will be presented. Relationships between amphiphile structure, colloidal properties, and biological properties will also be discussed. In addition, other research directions include the exploration of varying head groups to determine their influence on antibacterial and colloidal properties. We would like to thank the National Science Foundation and the Research Corporation for the Advancement of Science for their funding and support of our research.

Additional Abstract Information


Student(s): Brenna J. C. Walsh, Kunny Kou

Department: Chemistry and Biochemistry, Biology

Faculty Advisor: Dr. Kevin L. Caran, Dr. Kyle Seifert

Type: Oral

Year: 2016

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