Seminar Title: Design and Synthesis of Amphiphilic Polymers as Antimicrobials

Speaker: Kenichi Kuroda, Biologic and Materials Sciences

Abstract: My research focuses on the investigation of the structure-activity relationship of amphiphilic synthetic polymers in an antimicrobial assay. Amphiphilic synthetic polymers have been utilized in preparing chemical disinfectants and biocides. Their amphiphilic structures disrupt cell membranes, causing breakdown of the transmembrane potential, leakage of cytoplasmic contents, and ultimately cell death. One of the major drawbacks of polymeric disinfectants is a lack of selectivity for bacterial over human cells, limiting their clinical and medicinal utility. The challenge of this project is in making non-toxic synthetic polymers and demonstrating a new design strategy to overcome previous limitations. In this research, biological assays revealed that the membrane-active properties of the polymers can be tuned by alternating the hydrophobic/hydrophilic ratio and molecular weights. Our finding suggests that synthetic polymers have potency as alternatives for antibiotics and natural peptides.

Publication: Kuroda, K.; DeGrado, W. F. J. Amer. Chem. Soc. 2005, 127, 4128.

Future research topics: My primary interest is to design and synthesize amphiphilic polymers/oligomers that can actively interact with cell membranes and use these compounds to understand polymer-lipid interactions by investigating the physical properties and biological activities of polymers in lipid layers. I plan to study the translocation of polymers as potential drug carriers and the membrane-disrupting action of antimicrobial polymers. These projects will provide insight into polymer-lipid interactions, aiding in the development of polymers as alternatives for antibiotics or drug/gene vectors. This research is highly interdisciplinary, involving the fields of synthetic polymer chemistry, biochemistry, and physical chemistry, and is oriented to the practical aspects of biomedical and pharmaceutical applications.

Contact information: Kenichi Kuroda, x6-1440, kkuroda@umich.edu