Synthesis and In Vitro Evaluation of Inherent Properties of L-Glutamic Acid Based Dendritic Lipopeptide Oligomers

Purpose The present study reports synthesis, characterization and in vitro evaluation of physicochemical and biological properties of dendritic lipopeptide oligomers comprising L-glutamic acid dendrons and myristoyl tails such that termini of the molecules carry carboxylic ester, carboxylic acid or alcohol functions, which account for nonpolar neutral, polar anionic and polar neutral surfaces, respectively. Methods Reactions adopted in the current work were fairly rapid, moderately simplified and required fewer coupling reagents. As inherent physicochemical and biological properties depend upon structural details, synthesized compounds were tested for the presence of foaming, nanoparticle formation, antibacterial and anticancer potential, if any. Results The synthesized nonpolar molecule demonstrated potential to form self-assembled polymeric nanoparticles, whereas the polar molecules demonstrated surfactant-like properties. None of the synthesized molecules demonstrated any inherent antibacterial activity against gram-positive as well as gram-negative bacterial strains, but compound with hydroxyl termini showed anticancer activity hint as a result of preliminary screening. Conclusion The synthesized molecules demonstrate potential for their application as drug delivery materials and hold scope for further investigations.

Automated summary

This study reports the synthesis, characterization, and in vitro evaluation of dendritic lipopeptide oligomers with different surface properties. The synthesized compounds demonstrated the potential to form self-assembled polymeric nanoparticles and surfactant-like properties. A compound with a hydroxyl terminus showed hints of anticancer activity. These molecules have potential applications as drug delivery materials and warrant further investigation.