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A comparison of the bactericidal and photobactericidal activities of aminoacridines and bis(aminoacridines)
Author(s) -
Marland,
D. R. A. Wareing,
" Bolton
Publication year - 1998
Publication title -
letters in applied microbiology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.698
H-Index - 110
eISSN - 1472-765X
pISSN - 0266-8254
DOI - 10.1046/j.1472-765x.1998.00357.x
Subject(s) - microbiology and biotechnology , bacteria , biology , genetics
An attempt was made to increase the activity of some antibacterial acridines in two ways: (a) via the use of bis‐aminacrines (analogues of 1,6‐bis‐[9‐acridinamino]hexane), in order to increase the potential for DNA intercalation and (b) via photoactivation, as several acridines are known to produce the cytotoxin singlet oxygen on irradiation. The bactericidal activity of the simple aminoacridines was much higher than that of the corresponding bis‐acridine compounds. In addition, on low‐power illumination of the compounds in liquid culture, many of the monomeric compounds exhibited marked increases in activity against both Gram‐negative and Gram‐positive bacteria, whereas the bis‐acridines showed little or no increase.