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Engineering Gram Selectivity of Mixed‐Charge Gold Nanoparticles by Tuning the Balance of Surface Charges
Author(s) -
Pillai Pramod P.,
Kowalczyk Bartlomiej,
KandereGrzybowska Kristiana,
Borkowska Magdalena,
Grzybowski Bartosz A.
Publication year - 2016
Publication title -
angewandte chemie international edition
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 5.831
H-Index - 550
eISSN - 1521-3773
pISSN - 1433-7851
DOI - 10.1002/anie.201602965
Subject(s) - selectivity , rational design , gram , nanoparticle , ligand (biochemistry) , covalent bond , chemistry , colloidal gold , surface charge , nanotechnology , biophysics , combinatorial chemistry , materials science , bacteria , biochemistry , organic chemistry , receptor , biology , genetics , catalysis
Nanoparticles covered with ligand shells comprising both positively and negatively charged ligands exhibit Gram‐selective antibacterial action controlled by a single experimental parameter, namely the proportion of [+] and [−] ligands tethered onto these particles. Gram selectivity is attributed to the interplay between polyvalent electrostatic and non‐covalent interactions that work in unison to disrupt the bacterial cell wall. The [+/−] nanoparticles are effective in low doses, are non‐toxic to mammalian cells, and are tolerated well in mice. These results constitute the first example of rational engineering of Gram selectivity at the (macro)molecular level.