Pegylated Bis-Quaternary Triphenyl-Phosphonium Tosylate Allows For Balanced Antibacterial Activity And Cytotoxicity

Quaternary triphenylphosphonium compounds (TPP+) have been widely recognized as an important antimicrobial because of their fast antimicrobial speed and broad antimicrobial spectrum. However, small-molecule TPP+ compounds have the defects of toxicity, which is the key factor that limits their practical applications. Here, two mono- and one bis-quaternary phosphonium tosylate compounds with different lengths of oligo(ethylene glycol) (OEG) chains and TPP+ as the active moiety were synthesized. Bis-TPP+ have a short OEG chain coupling two TPP+ at both ends, while mono-TPP+ attaches the OEG chain at one end in one molecule. In vitro antibacterial activities were evaluated against both Gram-positive as well as Gram-negative bacteria in terms of the inhibition zone (ZOI) and minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC). To investigate the antibacterial mechanism, beta-galactosidase activity was monitored for measuring the degree of membrane permeability correlated to the abilities to disrupt the membranes of bacteria. Moreover, their structureantibacterial activity and structurecytotoxicity relationships were further analyzed. The results indicated that bis-TPP+ synthesized can reach the sterilization rate 90% or more against Escherichia coli and Staphylococcus aureus at MICs of 3.1 and 1.5 mg/mL, respectively, and meanwhile, the cell proliferation can reach more than 80%. This paper represents an excellent approach for development of bis-TPP+ bactericidal molecules that would achieve an optimal balance between antimicrobial activity and cytotoxicity.