Nylon-3 Polymers with Selective Antifungal Activity

Host-defense peptides inhibit bacterial growth but show little toxicity toward mammalian cells. A variety of synthetic polymers have been reported to mimic this antibacterial selectivity; however, achieving comparable selectivity for fungi is more difficult because these pathogens are eukaryotes. Here we report nylon-3 polymers based on a novel subunit that display potent antifungal activity (MIC = 3.1 mu g/mL for Candida albicans) and favorable selectivity (IC10 > 400 mu g/mL for 3T3 fibroblast toxicity; HC10 > 400 mu g/mL for hemolysis).