Abstract
Quaternary ammonium surfactants (QACs) are microbicides, whereas poly (acrylates) are biocompatible polymers. Here, the physical and antimicrobial properties of two QACs, cetyl trimethyl ammonium bromide (CTAB) or dioctadecyl dimethyl ammonium bromide (DODAB) in poly (methyl methacrylate) (PMMA) nanoparticles (NPs) are compared to those of QACs alone. Methyl methacrylate (MMA) polymerization using DODAB or CTAB as emulsifiers and initiator azobisisobutyronitrile (AIBN) yielded cationic, nanometric, homodisperse, and stable NPs. NPs’ physical and antimicrobial properties were assessed from dynamic light scattering (DLS), scanning electron microscopy, and viability curves of Escherichia coli, Staphylococcus aureus, or Candida albicans determined as log(colony-forming unities counting) over a range of [QACs]. NPs were spherical and homodisperse but activity for free QACs was higher than those for QACs in NPs. Inhibition halos against bacteria and yeast were observed only for free or incorporated CTAB in NPs because PMMA/CTAB NPs controlled the CTAB release. DODAB displayed fungicidal activity against C. albicans since DODAB bilayer disks could penetrate the outer glycoproteins fungus layer. The physical properties and stability of the cationic NPs highlighted their potential to combine with other bioactive molecules for further applications in drug and vaccine delivery.
Highlights
Biocompatible synthetic or natural polymers can improve body functions without interfering with its normal functioning or triggering side effects [1,2,3,4,5,6,7]
dioctadecyl dimethyl ammonium bromide (DODAB) incorporated in the PMMA polymeric matrix did not move in the agar and did not cross the dialysis
DODAB incorporated in the PMMA polymeric matrix did not move in the agar and did not cross the dialysis membrane
Summary
Biocompatible synthetic or natural polymers can improve body functions without interfering with its normal functioning or triggering side effects [1,2,3,4,5,6,7]. DODAB incorporated in the PMMA polymeric matrix did not move in the agar and did not cross the dialysis membrane. Besides applications in antimicrobial chemotherapy, PMMA/QAC NPs here described may find interesting uses as immunoadjuvants due to their nanometric size, positive zeta-potential, narrow size distribution, and high colloidal stability. They are expected to combine well with oppositely charged antigens, such as proteins [43], peptides [44,45], or DNA [46,47,48] for subunit vaccines design as many cationic adjuvants do
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