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Polymers, Polymer Blends, and Polymeric Drug Release Systems with Antiviral or Antibacterial Effect

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A special issue of International Journal of Molecular Sciences (ISSN 1422-0067). This special issue belongs to the section "Materials Science".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (30 November 2021) | Viewed by 17071

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Special Issue Editors

Dr. Piotr Dobrzynski

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Guest Editor

Jan Dlugosz University in Czestochowa, Faculty of Mathematics and Natural Sciences Armii Krajowej 13/15, 42-218 Czestochowa, Poland
Interests: polymeric biomaterials; biodegradable polymers; ROP; processing of bioresorbable polymers; polymeric scaffolds; biodegradable vascular stents
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Prof. Dr. Elżbieta Pamuła

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Department of Biomaterials and Composites, Faculty of Materials Science and Ceramics, AGH University of Science and Technology, 30-059 Kraków, Poland
Interests: biomaterials; composites; drug delivery systems; nanomedicine
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear colleagues,

This Special Issue will highlight studies focusing on polymeric biocide materials and polymeric drug delivery systems as well as their application in medicine, public healthcare, and other areas of daily life.

Bacterial and viral diseases among humans pose a serious threat to health and even life, which of course entails significant socio-economic losses. Vaccination is the most important and effective antiviral or antibacterial strategy. However, vaccines are only available for a selected part of the strains causing the most serious infections. Thus, the prevention and treatment of viral and bacterial infections remain a major challenge. The pathways of disease transmission caused by bacteria or viruses may vary, but they are usually associated with biological contamination of food, cosmetics, water, public areas, and direct contact between people. These infections, despite special sanitary regimes, often constitute serious complications for surgical procedures. All these sources of infection can be significantly reduced by the widespread use of materials with strong antimicrobial effects, including special polymers.

It is known that many synthetic polymers, polysaccharides, modified polysaccharides, and other macromolecular compounds of natural or synthetic origin have strong antimicrobial activity and, as recently reported, also antiviral activity. Applications of polymers and biopolymers to develop antibacterial and antiviral devices that might be used as active food packaging is a promising alternative to preserving food with chemicals. Biocidal polymers can also be used as self-disinfecting agents to coat surfaces of food processing equipment. Other areas of their application include seals, filters, conveyors, gloves, clothing, and other personal care items. The use of these polymers as protective coatings on generally accessible surfaces such as handles, tables, benches, etc. is also promising.

Polymeric materials can also be effective carriers of antimicrobial drugs, e.g., antibiotics, antibacterial peptides, and quorum sensing inhibitors, allowing a significant reduction in the required drug dose by targeted action and controlled release over time. A whole field of applications of such materials in medicine is also opening up, especially in implantology, dentistry, dermatology, cosmetology, and regenerative medicine.

We cordially invite you to contribute to this topical thematic issue by submitting original research papers or interesting reviews.

Prof. Dr. Elzbieta Pamula
Dr. Piotr Dobrzynski
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. International Journal of Molecular Sciences is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. There is an Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal. For details about the APC please see here. Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

Antimicrobial polymers
Antifungal polymers
Antiviral polymers
Polymers as drug delivery systems
Application of biocide polymers
Biocide polymers coatings and surfaces
Advantages and disadvantages of biocide polymers
Mode of action of biocide polymers

Published Papers (7 papers)

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Research

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22 pages, 4911 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Composites Based on Gellan Gum, Alginate and Nisin-Enriched Lipid Nanoparticles for the Treatment of Infected Wounds

by Katarzyna Reczyńska-Kolman, Kinga Hartman, Konrad Kwiecień, Monika Brzychczy-Włoch and Elżbieta Pamuła

Int. J. Mol. Sci. 2022, 23(1), 321; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/ijms23010321 - 28 Dec 2021

Cited by 19 | Viewed by 2227

Abstract

Due to growing antimicrobial resistance to antibiotics, novel methods of treatment of infected wounds are being searched for. The aim of this research was to develop a composite wound dressing based on natural polysaccharides, i.e., gellan gum (GG) and a mixture of GG and alginate (GG/Alg), containing lipid nanoparticles loaded with antibacterial peptide—nisin (NSN). NSN-loaded stearic acid-based nanoparticles (NP_NSN) were spherical with an average particle size of around 300 nm and were cytocompatible with L929 fibroblasts for up to 500 µg/mL. GG and GG/Alg sponges containing either free NSN (GG + NSN and GG/Alg + NSN) or NP_NSN (GG + NP_NSN and GG/Alg + NP_NSN) were highly porous with a high swelling capacity (swelling ratio above 2000%). Encapsulation of NSN within lipid nanoparticles significantly slowed down NSN release from GG-based samples for up to 24 h (as compared to GG + NSN). The most effective antimicrobial activity against Gram-positive Streptococcus pyogenes was observed for GG + NP_NSN, while in GG/Alg it was decreased by interactions between NSN and Alg, leading to NSN retention within the hydrogel matrix. All materials, except GG/Alg + NP_NSN, were cytocompatible with L929 fibroblasts and did not cause an observable delay in wound healing. We believe that the developed materials are promising for wound healing application and the treatment of bacterial infections in wounds. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Polymers, Polymer Blends, and Polymeric Drug Release Systems with Antiviral or Antibacterial Effect)

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15 pages, 4217 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Biodegradability of Novel Polylactide and Polycaprolactone Materials with Bacteriostatic Properties Due to Embedded Birch Tar in Different Environments

by Agnieszka Richert, Agnieszka Kalwasińska, Maria Swiontek Brzezinska and Grażyna B. Dąbrowska

Int. J. Mol. Sci. 2021, 22(19), 10228; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/ijms221910228 - 23 Sep 2021

Cited by 13 | Viewed by 2048

Abstract

The microbial biodegradation of new PLA and PCL materials containing birch tar (1–10% v/v) was investigated. Product of dry distillation of birch bark (Betula pendula Roth) was added to polymeric materials to obtain films with antimicrobial properties. The subject of the study was the course of enzymatic degradation of a biodegradable polymer with antibacterial properties. The results show that the type of the material, tar concentration, and the environment influenced the hydrolytic activity of potential biofilm degraders. In the presence of PCL films, the enzyme activities were higher (except for α-D-glucosidase) compared to PLA films. The highest concentration of birch tar (10% v/v) decreased the activity of hydrolases produced by microorganisms to the most significant extent; however, SEM analysis showed the presence of a biofilm even on plastics with the highest tar content. Based on the results of the biological oxygen demand (BOD), the new materials can be classified as biodegradable but, the biodegradation process was less efficient when compared to plastics without the addition of birch tar. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Polymers, Polymer Blends, and Polymeric Drug Release Systems with Antiviral or Antibacterial Effect)

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20 pages, 5152 KiB

Open AccessArticle

The Composites of PCL and Tetranuclear Titanium(IV)-oxo Complexes as Materials Exhibiting the Photocatalytic and the Antimicrobial Activity

by Barbara Kubiak, Aleksandra Radtke, Adrian Topolski, Grzegorz Wrzeszcz, Patrycja Golińska, Ewelina Kaszkowiak, Michał Sobota, Jakub Włodarczyk, Mateusz Stojko and Piotr Piszczek

Int. J. Mol. Sci. 2021, 22(13), 7021; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/ijms22137021 - 29 Jun 2021

Cited by 8 | Viewed by 1967

Abstract

Excessive misuse of antibiotics and antimicrobials has led to a spread of microorganisms resistant to most currently used agents. The resulting global threats has driven the search for new materials with optimal antimicrobial activity and their application in various areas of our lives. In our research, we focused on the formation of composite materials produced by the dispersion of titanium(IV)-oxo complexes (TOCs) in poly(ε-caprolactone) (PCL) matrix, which exhibit optimal antimicrobial activity. TOCs, of the general formula [Ti₄O₂(OⁱBu)₁₀(O₂CR’)₂] (R’ = PhNH₂ (1), C₁₃H₉ (2)) were synthesized as a result of the direct reaction of titanium(IV) isobutoxide and 4-aminobenzoic acid or 9-fluorenecarboxylic acid. The microcrystalline powders of (1) and (2), whose structures were confirmed by infrared (IR) and Raman spectroscopy, were dispersed in PCL matrixes. In this way, the composites PCL + nTOCs (n = 5 and 20 wt.%) were produced. The structure and physicochemical properties were determined on the basis of Raman microscopy, thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), electron paramagnetic resonance spectroscopy (EPR), and UV–Vis diffuse reflectance spectroscopy (DRS). The degree of TOCs distribution in the polymer matrix was monitored by scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The addition of TOCs micro grains into the PCL matrix only slightly changed the thermal and mechanical properties of the composite compared to the pure PCL. Among the investigated PCL + TOCs systems, promising antibacterial properties were confirmed for samples of PCL + n(2) (n = 5, 20 wt.%) composites, which simultaneously revealed the best photocatalytic activity in the visible range. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Polymers, Polymer Blends, and Polymeric Drug Release Systems with Antiviral or Antibacterial Effect)

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20 pages, 3139 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Synthesis of the Bacteriostatic Poly(l-Lactide) by Using Zinc (II)[(acac)(L)H₂O] (L = Aminoacid-Based Chelate Ligands) as an Effective ROP Initiator

by Renata Barczyńska-Felusiak, Małgorzata Pastusiak, Piotr Rychter, Bożena Kaczmarczyk, Michał Sobota, Andrzej Wanic, Anna Kaps, Marzena Jaworska-Kik, Arkadiusz Orchel and Piotr Dobrzyński

Int. J. Mol. Sci. 2021, 22(13), 6950; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/ijms22136950 - 28 Jun 2021

Cited by 3 | Viewed by 2222

Abstract

The paper presents a synthesis of poly(l-lactide) with bacteriostatic properties. This polymer was obtained by ring-opening polymerization of the lactide initiated by selected low-toxic zinc complexes, Zn[(acac)(L)H₂O], where L represents N-(pyridin-4-ylmethylene) tryptophan or N-(2-pyridin-4-ylethylidene) phenylalanine. These complexes were obtained by reaction of Zn[(acac)₂ H₂O] and Schiff bases, the products of the condensation of amino acids and 4-pyridinecarboxaldehyde. The composition, structure, and geometry of the synthesized complexes were determined by NMR and FTIR spectroscopy, elemental analysis, and molecular modeling. Both complexes showed the geometry of a distorted trigonal bipyramid. The antibacterial and antifungal activities of both complexes were found to be much stronger than those of the primary Schiff bases. The present study showed a higher efficiency of polymerization when initiated by the obtained zinc complexes than when initiated by the zinc(II) acetylacetonate complex. The synthesized polylactide showed antibacterial properties, especially the product obtained by polymerization initiated by a zinc(II) complex with a ligand based on l-phenylalanine. The polylactide showed a particularly strong antimicrobial effect against Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Staphylococcus aureus, and Aspergillus brasiliensis. At the same time, this polymer does not exhibit fibroblast cytotoxicity. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Polymers, Polymer Blends, and Polymeric Drug Release Systems with Antiviral or Antibacterial Effect)

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16 pages, 33814 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Environmentally Friendly Cross-Linked Antifouling Coatings Based on Dual Antimicrobial Action

by Georgia C. Lainioti, Anthi Tsapikouni, Denisa Druvari, Pavlos Avramidis, Ioannis Prevedouros, Alexios Glaropoulos and Joannis K. Kallitsis

Int. J. Mol. Sci. 2021, 22(9), 4658; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/ijms22094658 - 28 Apr 2021

Cited by 4 | Viewed by 1604

Abstract

The synthesis of environmentally friendly antimicrobial polymeric coatings, especially in the case of aquaculture, that inhibit the growth of bio-deposits is a very important issue that will contribute to the cost reduction of nets’ cleaning process as well as the protection of the submarine wealth from the biostatic substances used so far. In the present work, the antimicrobial polymers P(SSAmC₁₆-co-VBCHAMx) and the terpolymer P(SSAmC₁₆w-co-VBCHAMx-co-GMAy) were synthesized, bearing quaternary ammonium compounds, electrostatically bound and covalently attached at the same polymer chain. The combination of the two types is of particular importance, as it can provide effective antimicrobial polymeric materials with self-polishing capabilities as a result of the released nature of the antimicrobial, in combination with the permanent local action of the immobilized species. The cross-linking reaction of the terpolymer P(SSAmC₁₆w-co-VBCHAMx-co-GMAy) with the homopolymer polyacrylic acid (PAA) was tested at 120 °C in terms of the equivalent ratio between epoxy and carboxyl groups. The synthesized polymers were further used for the coating of aquaculture nets and tested in terms of antifouling efficiency in lab and scale-up conditions. Uncoated nets were also used in all applications for comparison reasons. The coated nets performed efficiently for 35 days in lab-scale and 66 days in scale-up conditions, showing a high antifouling activity in both fields compared to the uncoated nets. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Polymers, Polymer Blends, and Polymeric Drug Release Systems with Antiviral or Antibacterial Effect)

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13 pages, 7094 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Molecular Docking Studies and Biological Evaluation of Berberine–Benzothiazole Derivatives as an Anti-Influenza Agent via Blocking of Neuraminidase

by Manu Kumar, Sang-Min Chung, Ganuskh Enkhtaivan, Rahul V. Patel, Han-Seung Shin and Bhupendra M. Mistry

Int. J. Mol. Sci. 2021, 22(5), 2368; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/ijms22052368 - 27 Feb 2021

Cited by 13 | Viewed by 2280

Abstract

In this study, we have introduced newly synthesized substituted benzothiazole based berberine derivatives that have been analyzed for their in vitro and in silico biological properties. The activity towards various kinds of influenza virus strains by employing the cytopathic effect (CPE) and sulforhodamine B (SRB) assay. Several berberine–benzothiazole derivatives (BBDs), such as BBD1, BBD3, BBD4, BBD5, BBD7, and BBD11, demonstrated interesting anti-influenza virus activity on influenza A viruses (A/PR/8/34, A/Vic/3/75) and influenza B viral (B/Lee/40, and B/Maryland/1/59) strain, respectively. Furthermore, by testing neuraminidase activity (NA) with the neuraminidase assay kit, it was identified that BBD7 has potent neuraminidase activity. The molecular docking analysis further suggests that the BBD1–BBD14 compounds’ antiviral activity may be because of interaction with residues of NA, and the same as in oseltamivir. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Polymers, Polymer Blends, and Polymeric Drug Release Systems with Antiviral or Antibacterial Effect)

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Review

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92 pages, 10312 KiB

Open AccessReview

Biodegradable Polymers and Polymer Composites with Antibacterial Properties

by Anna Smola-Dmochowska, Kamila Lewicka, Alicja Macyk, Piotr Rychter, Elżbieta Pamuła and Piotr Dobrzyński

Int. J. Mol. Sci. 2023, 24(8), 7473; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/ijms24087473 - 18 Apr 2023

Cited by 9 | Viewed by 3462

Abstract

Antibiotic resistance is one of the greatest threats to global health and food security today. It becomes increasingly difficult to treat infectious disorders because antibiotics, even the newest ones, are becoming less and less effective. One of the ways taken in the Global Plan of Action announced at the World Health Assembly in May 2015 is to ensure the prevention and treatment of infectious diseases. In order to do so, attempts are made to develop new antimicrobial therapeutics, including biomaterials with antibacterial activity, such as polycationic polymers, polypeptides, and polymeric systems, to provide non-antibiotic therapeutic agents, such as selected biologically active nanoparticles and chemical compounds. Another key issue is preventing food from contamination by developing antibacterial packaging materials, particularly based on degradable polymers and biocomposites. This review, in a cross-sectional way, describes the most significant research activities conducted in recent years in the field of the development of polymeric materials and polymer composites with antibacterial properties. We particularly focus on natural polymers, i.e., polysaccharides and polypeptides, which present a mechanism for combating many highly pathogenic microorganisms. We also attempt to use this knowledge to obtain synthetic polymers with similar antibacterial activity. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Polymers, Polymer Blends, and Polymeric Drug Release Systems with Antiviral or Antibacterial Effect)

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