Biomimetic pH responsive amphiphilic polymers: Solution property dependent antifungal mechanism

Rampant use of antibiotics and emergence of zoonotic diseases lead to serious health hazards worldwide. Amidst the foremost category of microbial infections, fungal infections are deleterious and challenging due to their eukaryotic cellular feature. The genus Aspergillosis is one of the major causes of global mortality associated with chronic fungal infections ensuing the developement of novel antifungal agents. Inspired by antimicrobial peptides (AMPs), different amino acid-based pH responsive cationic biocompatible polymers have been designed to investigate the fungicidal activities against Aspergillus niger (A. niger). The structure-activity relationships and mechanism of action have been studied thoroughly demonstrating the effective inhibition of hyphal growth and distortion of conidiophores in A. niger. Detailed morphological analysis provide mechanistic insight explicating that the aqueous solution properties of the side chain groups of individual amino acids significantly influence the fungicidal activities.

Automated summary

The rampant use of antibiotics and emergence of zoonotic diseases have led to serious global health hazards. Fungal infections, particularly those caused by Aspergillus species, are challenging due to their eukaryotic nature. Researchers have developed pH responsive cationic biocompatible polymers based on amino acids inspired by antimicrobial peptides, which have demonstrated effective fungicidal activities against Aspergillus niger. The mechanism of action involves inhibition of hyphal growth and distortion of conidiophores, with the aqueous solution properties of the side chain groups of individual amino acids significantly influencing the fungicidal activities.