Water-stable ammonium-terminated carbosilane dendrimers as efficient antibacterial agents

• Published in: Dalton transactions : an international journal of inorganic chemistry 2009-10 (40), p.8704-8713
• Main Authors: Rasines, Beatriz, Hernández-Ros, José Manuel, de las Cuevas, Natividad, Copa-Patiño, José Luis, Soliveri, Juan, Muñoz-Fernández, M Angeles, Gómez, Rafael, de la Mata, F Javier
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Anti-Bacterial Agents - chemical synthesis; Anti-Bacterial Agents - chemistry; Anti-Bacterial Agents - pharmacology; Dendrimers - chemistry; Escherichia coli - drug effects; Microbial Sensitivity Tests; Quaternary Ammonium Compounds - chemistry; Silanes - chemistry; Staphylococcus aureus - drug effects; Water - chemistry
• ISSN: 1477-9226; 1477-9234
• DOI: 10.1039/b909955g

A new family of amine- and ammonium-terminated carbosilane dendrimers of the type Gn-[Si(CH2)3N(Et)CH2CH2NMe2]x and Gn-{[Si(CH2)(3)N+R(Et)CH2CH2N+RMe2]x(X-)y} (where n = 1, 2 and 3; R = H, X = Cl; R = Me, X = I) respectively has been synthesized by hydrosilylation of N,N-dimethyl-N'-allyl-N'-ethyl-ethylenediamine, [(CH2=CH-CH2)(Et)N(CH2)2NMe2] with the corresponding hydride-terminated dendrimers and subsequent quaternization with HCl or MeI. Quaternized dendrimers are soluble and stable in water or other protic solvents for long time periods. The antibacterial properties of the quaternary ammonium functionalized dendrimers have been evaluated showing that they act as potent biocides in which the multivalency along with the biopermeability of the carbosilane dendritic skeleton play an important role in the antibactericidal activity of these compounds.