Institute of Drug Research, School of Pharmacy-Faculty of Medicine, Center for Nanoscience and Nanotechnology and The Alex Grass Center for Drug Design and Synthesis, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Jerusalem 91120, Israel
Marta C. Ruiz-Grao
Department of Nursing, University of Castilla-La Mancha, 02071 Albacete, Spain
Sandra Cebada-Sánchez
Department of Nursing, University of Castilla-La Mancha, 02071 Albacete, Spain
Ángel López-Gónzalez
Department of Nursing, University of Castilla-La Mancha, 02071 Albacete, Spain
Milagros Molina-Alarcón
Instituto de Investigación en Discapacidades Neurológicas (IDINE), University of Castilla-La Mancha, 02001 Albacete, Spain
Juan Pérez-Martínez
BIOTYC Foundation, C/Blasco de Garay 27, 02003 Albacete, Spain
Francisco C. Pérez-Martínez
Instituto de Investigación en Discapacidades Neurológicas (IDINE), University of Castilla-La Mancha, 02001 Albacete, Spain
Nanotechnology is a developing field that has boomed in recent years due to the multiple qualities of nanoparticles (NPs), one of which is their antimicrobial capacity. We propose that NPs anchored with 2-(dimethylamino)ethyl methacrylate (DMAEMA) have antibacterial properties and could constitute an alternative tool in this field. To this end, the antimicrobial effects of three quaternised NPs anchored with DMAEMA were studied. These NPs were later copolymerized using different methylmethacrylate (MMA) concentrations to evaluate their role in the antibacterial activity shown by NPs. Clinical strains of Staphylococcus aureus, S. epidermidis, S. lugdunensis and Enterococcus faecalis were used to assess antibacterial activity. The minimal inhibitory concentration (MIC) was determined at the different concentrations of NPs to appraise antibacterial activity. The cytotoxic effects of the NPs anchored with DMAEMA were determined in NIH3T3 mouse fibroblast cultures by MTT assays. All the employed NPs were effective against the studied bacterial strains, although increasing concentrations of the MMA added during the synthesis process diminished these effects without altering toxicity in cell cultures. To conclude, more studies with other copolymers are necessary to improve the antibacterial effects of NPs anchored with DMAEMA.
