A potent and selective antimicrobial poly(amidoamine) dendrimer conjugate with LED209 targeting QseC receptor to inhibit the virulence genes of gram negative bacteria

A novel multifunctional nanoscale antimicrobial molecular, G3 PAMAM-LED209, was successfully developed. The G3 PAMAM-LED209 showed higher selectivity on Gram negative bacteria by specifically interacting with QseC receptor presenting on the surface of the bacteria. G3 PAMAM-LED209 also attenuated pathogenicity of Gram negative bacteria by inhibiting the virulence gene expression by selectively inhibiting QseC receptor. In addition, G3 PAMAM-LED209 played a strong bactericidal effect against Gram negative bacteria by an interaction between the surface amino groups of G3 PAMAM dendrimer and the membrane of bacterial cells.141