Antimicrobial Polymethacrylates Synthesized as Mimics of Tryptophan-Rich Cationic Peptides.

This study describes a facile and high yielding route to two series of polymethacrylates inspired by the naturally occurring, tryptophan-rich cationic antimicrobial polymers. Appropriate optimization of indole content within each gave rise to polymers with high potency against (e.g., PGI-3 minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) = 12 μg/mL) and the methicillin-resistant strain of (e.g., PGI-3 MIC = 47 μg/mL) with minimal toxicity toward human red blood cells. Future work will be directed toward understanding the cooperative roles that the cationic and indole pendant groups have for the mechanism of these polymers.