Antimicrobial Potency of Fmoc-Phe-Phe Dipeptide Hydrogels with Encapsulated Porphyrin Chromophores Is a Promising Alternative in Antimicrobial Resistance
Chrysanthi Pinelopi Apostolidou,
Chrysoula Kokotidou,
Varvara Platania,
Vasilis Nikolaou,
Georgios Landrou,
Emmanouil Nikoloudakis,
Georgios Charalambidis,
Maria Chatzinikolaidou,
Athanassios G. Coutsolelos,
Anna Mitraki
Affiliations
Chrysanthi Pinelopi Apostolidou
Department of Materials Science and Technology, University of Crete, Voutes Campus, 71003 Heraklion, Greece
Chrysoula Kokotidou
Department of Materials Science and Technology, University of Crete, Voutes Campus, 71003 Heraklion, Greece
Varvara Platania
Department of Materials Science and Technology, University of Crete, Voutes Campus, 71003 Heraklion, Greece
Vasilis Nikolaou
Laboratory of Bioinorganic Chemistry, Department of Chemistry, University of Crete, Voutes Campus, 70013 Heraklion, Greece
Georgios Landrou
Laboratory of Bioinorganic Chemistry, Department of Chemistry, University of Crete, Voutes Campus, 70013 Heraklion, Greece
Emmanouil Nikoloudakis
Laboratory of Bioinorganic Chemistry, Department of Chemistry, University of Crete, Voutes Campus, 70013 Heraklion, Greece
Georgios Charalambidis
Laboratory of Bioinorganic Chemistry, Department of Chemistry, University of Crete, Voutes Campus, 70013 Heraklion, Greece
Maria Chatzinikolaidou
Department of Materials Science and Technology, University of Crete, Voutes Campus, 71003 Heraklion, Greece
Athanassios G. Coutsolelos
Institute of Electronic Structure and Laser (IESL) FORTH, 70013 Heraklion, Greece
Anna Mitraki
Department of Materials Science and Technology, University of Crete, Voutes Campus, 71003 Heraklion, Greece
Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) poses a significant global health risk as a consequence of misuse of antibiotics. Owing to the increasing antimicrobial resistance, it became imperative to develop novel molecules and materials with antimicrobial properties. Porphyrins and metalloporphyrins are compounds which present antimicrobial properties especially after irradiation. As a consequence, porphyrinoids have recently been utilized as antimicrobial agents in antimicrobial photodynamic inactivation in bacteria and other microorganisms. Herein, we report the encapsulation of porphyrins into peptide hydrogels which serve as delivery vehicles. We selected the self-assembling Fmoc-Phe-Phe dipeptide, a potent gelator, as a scaffold due to its previously reported biocompatibility and three different water-soluble porphyrins as photosensitizers. We evaluated the structural, mechanical and in vitro degradation properties of these hydrogels, their interaction with NIH3T3 mouse skin fibroblasts, and we assessed their antimicrobial efficacy against Gram-positive Staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus) and Gram-negative Escherichia coli (E. coli) bacteria. We found out that the hydrogels are cytocompatible and display antimicrobial efficiency against both strains with the zinc porphyrins being more efficient. Therefore, these hydrogels present a promising alternative for combating bacterial infections in the face of growing AMR concerns.
