Year: 2019
Type: dissertation
Abstract: Nitric oxide (NO)-releasing materials have attracted much attention for antimicrobial applications due to the physiological roles of NO in immune defense. Prior study showed enhanced bactericidal efficacy of NO-releasing silica particles compared to small molecule NO donors, attributable to the efficient NO delivery into the interior of the bacteria. Unfortunately, these silica particles elicited significant toxicity towards mammalian cells at the concentrations for biofilm eradication. To address this limitation, my research has focused on the design of NO-releasing macromolecular scaffolds with enhanced bactericidal efficacy and reduced toxicity against mammalian cells. Herein, the synthesis of NO-releasing silica particles, dendrimers, and chitosan oligosaccharides with tunable NO-release kinetics, chemical structures (exterior hyrophobicity, ionic characteristics) and physical properties (size, morphology, molecular weight) were presented. The bactericidal efficacy of these NO-releasing scaffolds was evaluated against both planktonic bacteria and biofilms. Nitric oxide-releasing dendrimers with intermediate hydrophobicity and NO-releasing chitosan oligosaccharides exhibited enhanced antibacterial activities and proved effective at eradicating biofilms at the concentrations eliciting no toxicity against mammalian cells.
DOI: 10.17615/yvf7-2v68
Author: Lu, Yuan
Institution: University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
Language: English
Subfield: Applied Microbiology and Biotechnology
Field: Immunology and Microbiology
Domain: Life Sciences
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W2521533114