Antimicrobial materials through on-POM polymerization of N-carboxyanhydrides

Resumen del póster presentado al RSC Chemical Nanosciences & Nanotechnology Early Careers Virtual Meeting, celebrado el 24 de marzo de 2021.There is an urgent need to develop a range of new types of active antimicrobial materials to overcome the global problem of acquired antibiotic resistance. In this regard, the design of hybrid materials made from inorganic and organic components represent an ideal approach to search for synergistic antimicrobial properties. The combination of antibacterial polyoxometalates (POMs) – redox‐active molecular metal‐oxide anions – with synthetic antimicrobial peptides (sAMPs) may pave the path towards a new type of active antimicrobial materials. In this communication we show how an amino derivatised POM can serve as inorganic scaffold initiator for the ring opening polymerization (ROP) of N-carboxyanhydrides (NCAs). As part of this “on-POM” polymerisation strategy, and to mimic the general features of sAMPs, we randomly copolymerized a cationic and a hydrophobic monomer to synthesise a library of bactericidal poly(lysine)‐POM hybrid derivatives that can be used to prevent biofilm formation, offering the potential to tailor and improve the specificity and performance of hybrid antimicrobial materials.There is an urgent need to develop a range of new types of active antimicrobial materials to overcome the global problem of acquired antibiotic resistance. In this regard, the design of hybrid materials made from inorganic and organic components represent an ideal approach to search for synergistic antimicrobial properties. The combination of antibacterial polyoxometalates (POMs) – redox‐active molecular metal‐oxide anions – with synthetic antimicrobial peptides (sAMPs) may pave the path towards a new type of active antimicrobial materials. In this communication we show how an amino derivatised POM can serve as inorganic scaffold initiator for the ring opening polymerization (ROP) of N-carboxyanhydrides (NCAs). As part of this “on-POM” polymerisation strategy, and to mimic the general features of sAMPs, we randomly copolymerized a cationic and a hydrophobic monomer to synthesise a library of bactericidal poly(lysine)‐POM hybrid derivatives that can be used to prevent biofilm formation, offering the potential to tailor and improve the specificity and performance of hybrid antimicrobial materials.Peer reviewe