Immobilization studies of an engineered arginine-tryptophan-rich peptide on a silicone surface with antimicrobial and antibiofilm activity

ACS Appl Mater Interfaces. 2013 Jul 10;5(13):6412-22. doi: 10.1021/am401629p. Epub 2013 Jun 28.

Abstract

With the rapid rise of antibiotic-resistant-device-associated infections, there has been increasing demand for an antimicrobial biomedical surface. Synthetic antimicrobial peptides that have excellent bactericidal potency and negligible cytotoxicity are promising targets for immobilization on these target surfaces. An engineered arginine-tryptophan-rich peptide (CWR11) was developed, which displayed potent antimicrobial activity against a broad spectrum of microbes via membrane disruption, and possessed excellent salt resistance properties. A tethering platform was subsequently developed to tether CWR11 onto a model polymethylsiloxane (PDMS) surface using a simple and robust strategy. Surface characterization assays such as attenuated total reflectance-Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (ATR-FTIR), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), and energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDX) confirmed the successful grafting of CWR11 onto the chemically treated PDMS surface. The immobilized peptide concentration was 0.8 ± 0.2 μg/cm(2) as quantitated by sulfosuccinimidyl-4-o-(4,4-dimethoxytrityl) butyrate (sulfo-SDTB) assay. Antimicrobial assay and cytotoxic investigation confirmed that the peptide-immobilized surface has good bactericidal and antibiofilm properties, and is also noncytotoxic to mammalian cells. Tryptophan-arginine-rich antimicrobial peptides have the potential for antimicrobial protection of biomedical surfaces and may have important clinical applications in patients.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Anti-Bacterial Agents / chemical synthesis
  • Anti-Bacterial Agents / chemistry*
  • Anti-Bacterial Agents / pharmacology
  • Arginine / chemistry*
  • Arginine / pharmacology
  • Biofilms / drug effects*
  • Cell Line
  • Escherichia coli / drug effects
  • Escherichia coli / physiology
  • Humans
  • Peptides / chemical synthesis
  • Peptides / chemistry*
  • Peptides / pharmacology
  • Pseudomonas aeruginosa / drug effects
  • Pseudomonas aeruginosa / physiology
  • Silicones / chemistry
  • Staphylococcus aureus / drug effects
  • Staphylococcus aureus / physiology
  • Tryptophan / chemistry*
  • Tryptophan / pharmacology

Substances

  • Anti-Bacterial Agents
  • Peptides
  • Silicones
  • Tryptophan
  • Arginine